Investigation Reveals China’s Misleading Social Media Ads on Uyghur Detention Camps

Sad reality! According to the results of investigations by Intercept and Buzzfeed, published this week, Facebook and Twitter have relayed erroneous information from Chinese media about these detention camps.

The high-priced paid ads aim to convince Westerners that the camps located in northwest China are far from being a place of human rights violations, contrary to the preconceived ideas of certain governments, Chinese experts and international organizations including the UN. Indeed, about one million Uyghurs, a Chinese minority community with a strong Muslim majority, have been detained in these camps since 2017.

On Facebook, Global Times, a state-controlled tabloid, posted a sponsored video on Monday, August 26, 2019, titled "Xinjiang trainees graduate with hope for the future." Showing former detainees preparing bread, it aims to serve as an example of "vocational skills" for the Uyghurs in the detention camp. The creation of these teaching and vocational training centers provides lasting social stability in Xianjang and combats religious extremism, the English-language slides of the video indicate.

On Twitter, the tabloid also relayed a video of its editor-in-chief criticizing politicians and journalists who have condemned these camps: "Their hands are stained with the blood of Chinese killed in the 2009 Uyghur attacks." According to him, thanks to this camp, the Xinjiang region has regained peace and development.