A ‘myriad’ of front organizations had “Media Unlocked” banned from TikTok

Original video.

China Daily’s ‘Media Unlocked’ TikTok account banned

Media Unlocked’s accounts on Facebook, YouTube, and X, which are not flagged as government media outfits, are still up, however. Felipe F. Salvosa II

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IN-DEPTH: AI bolsters China state media’s TikTok offensive to influence narrative on sea dispute

Seeking credibility, China Daily’s ‘Media Unlocked’ TikTok passes off opinion as news

CNN:

Erin Burnett OutFront May 23, 2024 1PM Transcript

“RIPLEY (voice-over): Chinese state media is using A.I.-enhanced videos on TikTok, altering the reporter’s voice and face. A disclosure on screen for just a few seconds, easy to miss.

[01:39:52]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Under China’s jurisdiction.

RIPLEY: The video is pushing Beijing’s narrative on the South China Sea.

Is this a threat to democracy?

FELIPE SALVOSA II, JOURNALISM PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS: Most definitely. I think China has found a more cost-effective way to get its message across.

RIPLEY: Turning today’s digital landscape into a battleground for truth, where seeing is no longer believing.

Every time I do a story about these deepfake videos, what strikes me is the quality keeps improving. Our researcher (INAUDIBLE) spent hours putting these through algorithms to determine with 99 percent accuracy whether these videos are real, whether they’re fake, whether the voice has been altered, the face has been altered. Who on social media has time for that and a lot of people don’t take the time which experts say is dangerous, particularly in democracies when people are watching these videos and then potentially using the information they hear to make decisions about how to vote.

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Experts warn of Philippines scheming for ‘new arbitration’ on South China Sea + More

While reiterating that the arbitral tribunal in the South China Sea arbitration exceeded its jurisdiction and made an illegitimate ruling, Chinese experts warned on Monday that the Philippines is scheming for “new arbitration” on the issue, which would undermine regional peace and stability.

Experts warn of Philippines scheming for ‘new arbitration’ on South China Sea

Related:

Philippines should use legal, moral leverage in West Philippine Sea – expert

Ray Powell, director of the SeaLight Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation at Stanford University, said China is using an “asymmetrical” strategy through military might in asserting its claims in the region.

He also expressed support for the Philippine government’s plan to file another case against China, this time over the environmental destruction that China has caused in the West Philippine Sea.

PH to complete environmental case vs. China in ‘few weeks’- DOJ

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin’s Regular Press Conference on May 20, 2024

The Office of Naval Research funded Stanford’s GKC

I’m no expert, but I had a feeling that they would back in April, at least:

Philippine Coast Guard clarifies ‘assertive transparency’ tact

Vietnamese Poachers using Cyanide and Dynamite Fishing in the Philippines’ EEZ

The InfoOp Continues in the Pacific Islands

Full video: Why Should We Care About the Pacific Islands?

John Hennessey-Niland currently works with ASPI on ‘soft power’ in the Pacific Islands.

Maintaining U.S. Credibility in the Pacific Islands (PDF)

Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI):

ASPI funding (Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan, United Kingdom, United States, Netherlands, New Zealand, Amazon, Microsoft, Twitter, Facebook, Google, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Thales Australia, American Chamber of Commerce, Center for Strategic and International Studies, German Marshall Fund, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)

Australian think tank ASPI found linked to prison labor, human trafficking

Front Organizations

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China sending huge force in Scarborough ahead of civilian mission

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Atin Ito Coalition has connections to groups that have been funded by Oxfam International, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, the European Union, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (Friedrich Ebert Foundation), and the National Endowment for Democracy. Find more information here.

China sending huge force in Scarborough ahead of civilian mission

“China is sending a huge force to blockade Scarborough Shoal ahead of the Atin Ito civilian convoy setting sail from the Philippines Tuesday,” Powell, who heads the program of Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation that tracks Chinese maritime activities in the West Philippine Sea, said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

China seized Scarborough Shoal’s lagoon in 2012 after a CCG standoff with Philippine vessels.

Related:

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South China Sea: InfoOp Podcast (ASEAN)

YouTube

Clip from Episode 1 of Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific? Podcast (Apple Podcasts) with Ray Powell and Jim Carouso

Powell and Carouso worked together at the U.S. Embassy in Canberra, Australia. They’re trying to “shape” the Indo-Pacific for US corporate interests and to provoke a war with China.  

Jim Carouso is currently with the Center for Strategic & International Studies. CSIS is funded by various governments, including the United States, and corporations. Carouso is also with BowerGroupAsia in Singapore. He formerly worked in the State Department and was a chargé d’ affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Canberra and the U.S. Mission to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Ray Powell was formerly a Defense Attaché in Canberra, Australia.

Source

The Defense Attaché System is part of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Source.

More on SeaLight’s (formerly Project Myoushu) ‘assertive transparency’ campaign.

Previously:

SCS: The Office of Naval Research funded Stanford’s GKC

Philippines’ ‘assertive transparency’ strategy is causing them to miss out economically

PH: Compared To China, US Trade, Investment Offers Laughable + More

Manila escalates South China Sea row as it continues trick of ‘playing victim’ + More

Full video

Manila escalates South China Sea row as it continues trick of ‘playing victim’

According to experts, Marcos’ tough words serve domestic political purposes when he needs to shift Filipinos’ discontent over his administration’s performance on livelihood and the economy, and are also a response to the “support” from countries outside the region, including the US. 

The US is the biggest external disturbance to peace and stability in the South China Sea,” Ding said, “without instigation from US, it is more likely that China and the Philippines would manage their differences through negotiation and consultation.”

Related:

The facts and truth about Ren’ai Jiao

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China blames Philippines for ship collision in waters near Ren’ai Jiao + Notes

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China on Tuesday accused the Philippines of deliberately ramming a Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessel in disregard of China’s repeated warnings, as four Philippine vessels illegally entered the waters adjacent to the Ren’ai Jiao of China’s Nansha Qundao.

CCG spokesman Gan Yu made the remark after the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said one of its ships was damaged on Tuesday in a collision with a CCG vessel and four Filipino crew were injured. 

China blames Philippines for ship collision in waters near Ren’ai Jiao

Related:

The Philippines has been chartering civilian vessels for their resupply missions.

Source

A Philippine civilian boat, escorted by two navy ships and two coast guard vessels, was on a monthly supply run to a small number of Filipino marines stationed on the ‘Sierra Madre’ – a warship intentionally run aground on the Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 in order to reinforce The Philippines’ territorial claims in the area.

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I suspect that this incident was staged. Powell, from the DoD-funded Stanford GKC’s SeaLight (Project Myoushu), said that it was the same vessel that was damaged last time. FYI, I clipped this video before he started talking about the upcoming US-Philippine-Japan meeting to ‘strengthen military ties’.

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Powell whining, on X, for ‘international support’.

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PH: Compared To China, US Trade, Investment Offers Laughable + More

Compared To China, US Trade, Investment Offers Laughable

On the other hand, the BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) donations of China alone that are reality– Chico River Irrigation Pump, Davao Bucana Bridge, Estrella-Pantaleon and Binondo-Intramuros Bridge, the ongoing Kaliwa Dam Project that would provide 600/mld (million liters per day) to drying Metro-Manila and hundreds other projects– already count billions of dollars, not to mention private investments like DITO Telecoms’ $ 3.9 billion investment in our telecom sector.

Related:

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