Digital misinformation casts shadow on U.S.-China commerce truce

The world’s two greatest economies agreed earlier this month to pause reciprocal tariffs for 90 days [File]
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

From false claims of Americans panic-buying Chinese items to bot-driven assaults on U.S. manufacturers, a tide of misinformation is casting a shadow over a temporary trade truce between Washington and Beijing.

The world’s two greatest economies agreed earlier this month to pause reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, a shock de-escalation of their bitter commerce conflict following high-level talks in Geneva.

But an alternate actuality is unfolding throughout social media platforms, together with China’s Douyin and Weibo, the place a surge of falsehoods is fueling anti-American sentiment that would undermine the delicate truce.

One on-line video, which garnered thousands and thousands of views throughout these platforms and TikTok, claims to indicate panicked American customers snapping up Chinese-branded tv units within the aftermath of commerce tensions.

But in actuality, that was outdated footage from 2018 exhibiting Black Friday procuring frenzy at a U.S. grocery store.

The falsehood was additional amplified by Chinese state media shops, together with China Daily, which ran headlines similar to: “Americans are beginning to fill up like loopy amid tariffs and snapping up Chinese-branded TVs.”

A information clip on its web site, extra recycled footage from 2018, bears a “file footage” watermark within the higher left nook, apparently to protect the outlet from authorized legal responsibility.

Other unfounded claims emerged on Chinese platforms about Americans flying to China to buy Chinese items, and that US residents, reeling from the financial fallout of the commerce conflict, have been queuing as much as buy provides in bulk.

“These narratives are nearly actually curated by the state, which has turn into more and more fluent in harnessing social media,” Andrew Mertha, director of the SAIS China Global Research Center at Johns Hopkins University, advised AFP.

“(They) assist align Chinese public opinion with governmental technique, on this case demonstrating, albeit inaccurately, actually prematurely, that ‘the U.S. is already feeling the ache, so China should keep the course.'”

U.S. President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs have despatched jitters by the world financial system, unnerving buyers and roiling monetary markets.

Under the May 12 truce, the United States agreed to quickly cut back the tariff on Chinese imports to 30 % from 145 %, whereas China mentioned it might decrease its import obligation on American items to 10 % from 125 %.

Some of the false narratives emerged earlier than the settlement however have continued to unfold on-line, fueling confusion and a broader wave of data chaos.

“Lots of associates in China requested me: Are there no eggs within the United States? Is it very unsafe? Are folks speeding to purchase issues? Have you stockpiled something?” Vivian Wei, a Chicago-based content material creator, advised AFP.

“Some folks even (recommended) to not come to the United States for tourism or research.”

The rumours prompted Wei to tour a number of supermarkets throughout Chicago, solely to search out cabinets stocked.

While American customers appeared unfazed by the swirl of on-line misinformation, Wei noticed that the “Chinese have been getting very excited.”

Last month, disinformation safety agency Cyabra uncovered an anti-U.S. affect marketing campaign on the Elon Musk-owned X involving 1000’s of faux or bot-operated accounts.

They focused international manufacturers similar to Gucci, Chanel and Amazon, amplifying the unfounded narrative that they produced items in China whereas branding them as “Made in France” or “Made in Italy.”

The accounts blamed Trump’s commerce insurance policies for enabling such misleading advertising and marketing practices, whereas urging customers to ditch these manufacturers and buy merchandise immediately from China.

“This was a digital blitz. A 3rd of the accounts weren’t actual, however the backlash they triggered was,” Dan Brahmy, chief government of Cyabra, advised AFP.

“Fake profiles hijacked luxurious manufacturers, pushed anti-US narratives, and steered consumers away with out elevating suspicion. That’s what makes it efficient.”

Last month, AFP additionally uncovered viral TikTok movies by Chinese content material creators selling the spurious declare that worldwide luxurious manufacturers have been secretly manufacturing their merchandise in China.

The focused manufacturers didn’t reply to the declare, which gave the impression to be a part of a sprawling marketing campaign exploiting US-China commerce tensions to market counterfeit luxurious items.

The false narratives are unlikely to fade as commerce negotiations proceed, specialists say.

“I consider these narratives will proceed and can evolve in parallel with strengthening the Chinese authorities’s negotiating place,” mentioned Mertha from Johns Hopkins University.