Key Points
- In the run -up to the 2025 federal elections, some political candidates have used to Chinese social media platforms such as WeChat and Rednote to reach voters.
- These candidates usually walk in voters with large Chinese-Australian population or have Chinese background themselves.
- Experts and voters have expressed their concern about content, platform censorship and political messages generated by AI in one direction.
“Whether it is Chinese, Korean or the social media of another language, it is about ensuring that as many Australians – regardless of the background – can fully understand the information and make the best choices,” he said SBS Chinese.
During Lunar New Year’s celebrations, Benelong candidate, Scott Yung, posted a photo of himself that wore traditional Korean clothing that was again separated on Chinese social media. Credit: Instagram/Scott Yung
People with Chinese descent formed the largest ethnic group in Bennelong, good for 28.8 percent of the population.
In the meantime, Rednote has won increasing popularity in Australia with an estimated 70,000 monthly users and around 350 million users worldwide.
DeepFake Dutton -Videos
Although the video was removed by the maker, another digitally modified video with Dutton remained on the platform, entitled “Peter Dutton and his lies about the housing crisis”.
There are digitally changed videos from Peter Dutton on Chinese social media. Credit: Rednote Screenshot
In the video, Dutton was finished in Mandarin and said, “Hello, my young friends. I really care about the housing crisis.”
In an interview with SBS Chinese, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that she was aware that many Chinese Australians relied on platforms such as WeChat and Rednote for information, and these platforms had become important battlefield for election campaigns.
SBS Mandarin has learned that Senator Wong has no accounts on Rednote or WeChat. Source: MONKEY / Lukas Coch
“In these elections, people will hear you at SBS, but they will also see and hear content on social media and follow discussions in the community,” she said.
“So, ensuring that people understand our policy – what (opposition leader) Dutton says, what Prime Minister Albanese says – is crucial. People must know the differences between the two parties,” she said.
A broad mix of both reliable and unreliable content
Many other candidates and independent of the Chinese background – including Sam Lim, the sitting MP for Tangney; Liberal candidate for Sydney Alex Xu; Independent candidate for Bradfield Andy Yin; And greens – candidate for Bonner Wen Li – are also active on WeChat, Rednote or both.
“Self-media uses ‘clickbait’ titles and promotes its own stories. But when we see enough, we know what is real and what is not.”
Xiao Fan is of the opinion that the Chinese community generally has the opportunity to identify disinformation and incorrect information online. Source: SBS / SBS Chinese
Dr. Fan Yang, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Melbourne Law School, said since the 2022 federal elections, the two major parties had extended their political messages to Chinese language social platforms, especially WeChat, and now Rednote has become another important front.
“Some topics are censored on WeChat, and there are concerns about information security. Clare O’Neil share, for example, policy translations through her personal ‘WeChat moments’, but her account was deactivated in 2022-2023.”
Change the way in which political messages are distributed
“For example, candidates post that they eat Chinese food in Chinatown or attending Chinese community events. Some MPs make videos in their office or at home, making political content more lively.”
Dr. Fan Yang studies the way in which political parties use Chinese social media platforms. Source: Delivered / Dr. Fan Yang
“Rednote has a very low beam for access-u only need a valid telephone number to register and start sharing short videos with Chinese-Australian voters.”
“If you are looking for the name of a politician on Rednote, even if they have an account, you may not find them. You will only see their content if it is pushed towards you in your feed. Users must follow the account to get updates,” she said.
There are several personal accounts about Rednote information that places election-related information. Credit: Rednote Screenshot
Since Rednote and WeChat are owned by Chinese companies and are subject to the supervision of the Chinese government, and given that the WeChat account of former Premier Scott Morrison was once sold to a Chinese company, there were concerns in Australian political circles about the potential for foreign interference via these platforms.
SBS Mandarin sought comments from Dutton’s office about the AI-generated videos, but received no response at the time of publication.
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