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Chinese military study names TikTok among tech companies involved in ‘cognitive war’ on Russia
- According to PLA researchers, TikTok joins Facebook, Google and Twitter in propaganda campaign amid Ukraine war
- China must strengthen support for hi-tech companies while supervising them to address the challenges they pose to state power, scientists say
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Stephen Chenin Beijing
A new study by Chinese military scientists named TikTok as one of several hi-tech companies involved in propaganda campaigns against Russia.
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TikTok stands out as the only Chinese-owned business on the list, which contains nearly 40 private entities from the internet, space, finance and AI sectors.
According to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) investigation, TikTok has joined Facebook, Twitter, Google and other Western tech giants in offering a platform for cognitive war on Russia that has “greatly undermined Russian military morale” and eroded its international image.
“Combat in the cognitive domain is a new, advanced form of warfare. It is also the highest level of human [war] games,” the authors said.
The paper was published in the Chinese-language journal Modern Defence Technology on April 3.
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The study was led by Ling Haifeng, professor with the Army Engineering University of the PLA in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. Ling is a top information science expert who has overseen the data security of large-scale military operations, according to a People’s Daily report in 2019.
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