Singapore prime minister attacked by hundreds of Chinese-language fake AI videos
The videos targeting Lawrence Wong spread false narratives about his leadership being under threat and political infighting in Singapore
The videos have racked up millions of views since surfacing late last year, though experts suggested that bot traffic or automation could be responsible. In aggregate, these videos represent one of the largest and most persistent public campaigns against Singapore in recent years.
Another distinctive trait of the operation was the aggressive use of hashtags referencing Singapore or Wong. This tactic, known as search engine optimisation “poisoning”, serves the purpose of “contaminating” Chinese-language search results on YouTube and drawing viewers who might not otherwise engage with such videos.
Some clips and their associated channels have since been deleted, only for fresh videos to surface swiftly, making it challenging to determine the true scale and reach of the operation.