Chinese Foreign Ministry Information Department spokesman Lijian Zhao recently shared a shocking photo of an Australian soldier shockingly murdering an Afghan child:
Shocked by murder of Afghan civilians & prisoners by Australian soldiers. We strongly condemn such acts, &call for holding them accountable. pic.twitter.com/GYOaucoL5D
— Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@zlj517) November 30, 2020
You know what’s even more shocking than that photo? The fact that it’s a fake.
We know, we know. We don’t expect that sort of thing from a ChiCom propagandist. And yet, here we are.
But it gets more shocking still. See, if you look at that tweet, you’ll notice that there’s no “misinformation” or “claim disputed” disclaimer of any kind, despite the fact that Twitter has a story about the image being doctored:
It is literally the top story on the Twitter News tab, but the tweet is still up and unlabeled.
Good grief, @Twitter. Has @zlj517 got something on you? pic.twitter.com/EQJFNl3kcU
— Jeryl Bier (@JerylBier) November 30, 2020
and here's the Twitter "event" link:https://t.co/qP9V2X71OL
— Jeryl Bier (@JerylBier) November 30, 2020
Well, Twitter? Does China have something on you guys?
So @Twitter can label a @realDonaldTrump tweet as suspect within minutes, but 14+ hours later, an official "China Government Account" with a fake photo of a soldier executing a child is still up and unlabeled. https://t.co/NEjSvzKsQU
— Jeryl Bier (@JerylBier) November 30, 2020
Why is @jack @twitter allowing this?
They are censoring @realDonaldTrump … Why not the Chinese? https://t.co/arc6cSGoP1
— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) November 30, 2020
It’s still up as of this post’s publication, helpfully noting that it comes from a “China government account” but apparently not having any room to flag it for misinformation:
Let’s just say we’re not even remotely shocked that Twitter is doing this.
Twitter: "China blocks access to Twitter for regular users. We believe that people benefit from additional context when interacting with Chinese government and state-affiliated accounts."
Also Twitter: Allows fake photos to go unlabeled.https://t.co/EK3tHBhVoA pic.twitter.com/BJ91dT5Ne1
— Jeryl Bier (@JerylBier) November 30, 2020
Join the conversation as a VIP Member