China's DeepSeek AI Faces Global Outrage Over Uyghur Censorship and Propaganda

BEIJING: Human rights activists and international experts have expressed strong criticism of China’s newly developed AI platform, DeepSeek. There are serious concerns regarding its application in spreading state propaganda, censoring delicate topics, and collecting personal data. While the platform is presented as a technological breakthrough, it has raised significant ethical and security issues, as noted by the Campaign for Uyghur.

DeepSeek reportedly censors discussions about sensitive subjects like the Uyghurs, the Tiananmen Square Massacre, and any pleas regarding Taiwan’s status. Additionally, the application actively gathers personal data including IP addresses and conversation histories, all stored on servers within China.

The Campaign for Uyghur has highlighted that DeepSeek is aggressive in its data collection methods and the storage of personal information. This raises alarms about the potential misuse by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which has a notorious history of human rights violations. DeepSeek has been portrayed as an instrument for state-sponsored digital surveillance, particularly targeting dissenting voices on issues concerning Xinjiang.

Rushan Abbas, Executive Director of the Campaign for Uyghurs, took to social media to denounce the AI platform, stating, “It collects sensitive data that would benefit the CCP, a regime known for human rights abuses. Chinese AI platforms and apps fuel threats including digital transnational repression. We can’t afford to overlook this.” Her remarks underline growing anxieties regarding how AI technologies can facilitate censorship and maintain surveillance.

Another critic, Jan Czarnocki, a digital law expert located in Switzerland, provided his personal experience with DeepSeek on social media. He indicated, “DeepSeek may represent a technological leap, but it also serves as a voice for Chinese propaganda.” Czarnocki detailed his attempts to engage with DeepSeek about China's actions in Xinjiang, seeking acknowledgment of those actions as genocide. However, he reported that whenever he raised this issue, the AI would abruptly cease communication, claiming the inquiries could not be supported.

Czarnocki characterized the responses he received from DeepSeek regarding Xinjiang as heavily pre-scripted, emphasizing that they represented “a template example of Chinese propaganda.” He suggested the possibility of retraining DeepSeek’s open-source framework with truthful data in order to enhance security and decrease reliance on the Chinese API.

Additional criticism came from Open Source Intel, a US-based news and intelligence outlet. They revealed that DeepSeek consistently refused to respond to inquiries about the treatment of Uyghurs.

Critics argue that technologies like DeepSeek present an escalating threat to freedom of speech and individual privacy. There are calls from various quarters for the international community to adopt a decisive stance against such tools of repression.

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China, AI, Uyghur