Does this video show a “Chinese Bot Farm” in action?

A short video depicting a wall filled with mobile phones being operated by two individuals has been circulating on social media alongside various claims. Broadly, the claim is that the video shows a “Chinese bot farm” that runs social media bots to boost engagement – with the goal differing across posts.

For instance, we noticed different posters using the same clip to claim that either Pro or Anti-Israel posts are being generated and boosted by bots to push either propaganda or disinformation.Other posts have specifically suggested that Chinese bot farms are working for political ends – for instance manipulating social media platforms used in the United States with the goal of Trump handing “Taiwan over with no fuss.”“Bot Farms” are used to describe automated networks of bots that have been created to perform repetitive tasks at a much higher rate and scale than possible though using humans. They are typically controlled by a single operator who can generate large amount of content or perform multiple digital commands at once. These bot farms are known to exist – for instance a recent announcement by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) reported the seizure of over 900 user accounts linked to a Russian bot farm operation.

While the individuals in the video appear East Asian and do appear to be controlling a large number of mobile devices, we first attempted to trace the source of the clip and identify the context in which it was first posted. A reverse image search brought up a large number of similar videos – all posted and reposted around 29th and 30th June 2024.

However, when attempting to identify the original source, we were able to match a Facebook account name to the logo of the shirt one of the individuals in the video is wearing. The “Min Software” Facebook account appears be the official page of a digital marketing company based in Hanoi, Vietnam.

While the original video no longer appears to be on the page, a follow-up Facebook post by Min Software acknowledges that their video was used to spread fake news – specifically emphasising that they have never used their services to “incite offensive or negative actions against any religion.” According to the page, the video was initially used to spread misinformation about anti-Buddhist rhetoric in Vietnam before going viral across other parts of social media as a “Chinese Bot Farm.”The Min Software page describes the service in the clip as automated posting of marketing posts for digital businesses rather than social media bots spreading misinformation or farming engagement. We also noticed that they have a track record with posting similar videos or livestreams featuring the multiple phone set-up as a way of promoting their services.Therefore, we give this claim a rating of False. The video was originally promotional material for a Vietnamese company that offers automated social media posting for marketing purposes and does not depict a Chinese bot farm being used to spread propaganda or misinformation on social media.

While bot farms and machine-generated misinformation remain a significant issue when it comes to the current social media landscape, highlighting that fact with a misrepresented video clip compounds the issue rather than combats it.

The post by Min Software has not been widely viewed, and the video clip is still being shared with the “Chinese Bot Farm” label despite a fact-check also having been carried out by Reuters. The persistence of misinformation like this after it has been spread across social media platforms is not easily re-contained and debunked and will continue being used in disputes in narratives as seen above – further muddying the waters in the digital space.

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