AI Videos on Chinese Social Media Portray Foreigners as Villains

A surge of AI-generated videos on Chinese social media is inciting xenophobia and cyber-nationalism by portraying foreigners as menacing to China's societal stability. These clips, ranging from ten seconds to thirty seconds, are disseminated on platforms like WeChat, Kuaishou, and Douyin, frequently by accounts focused on content farming. An examination of numerous videos identifies four predominant themes: the uncivilized outsider (around 40%), the entitled foreign bully (approximately 30%), the sexual and demographic threat (about 20%), and the undesirable/dangerous migrant (nearly 10%). In a review of 35 videos, it was found that 39% featured Indian individuals, 28% White/Western, 24% Black/African, 6% Filipino, and 3% Japanese. The typical narrative structure involves foreigners breaching moral codes, victimizing Chinese citizens, and subsequently facing violent retribution from a morally superior Chinese individual, thus restoring societal order. This content symbolically addresses the 'century of humiliation' and supports the narrative of China's resurgence. Although not directly promoted by state media, this trend aligns with a surge in tourism and an increase in Indian visas, prompting a response from Chinese authorities, as indicated by an article in The Paper that was republished by the Chinese embassy in New Delhi. Nonetheless, a state media AI-generated video depicting the Philippines as a 'ragged monkey' has faced backlash for its racist implications.