Understanding Chinese Influence Operations Through the Lens of Social Movement Theory
Abstract
China is notorious for its domestic censorship and cross-strait propaganda efforts online. China primarily runs its cross-strait influence operations through two key mechanisms: astroturfing and censorship. Both are ways to distract and redirect public attention from events with collective action potential, where theevent itself is happening in an Indo-Pacific region of strategic interest to China. Astroturfing or reverse censorship entails deceptively posting fabricated content, as if they were coming from genuine ordinary citizens. Censorship, on the other hand involves selectively removing content to shape narrative. So far,attempts to understand these two parallel information control efforts have occurred through a U.S. strategic lens. This has resulted in a gap in social science theory to consider influence operations from the Chinesestrategic perspective. Hence, it is crucial to investigate these parallel efforts by increasing our understanding of the core components of strategic decision-making from the Chinese perspective. To have a holistic understanding of Chinas cross-strait propaganda tactics, the primary objective of this project is to answer the following research questions:(RQ1) How do the two primary vectors of influence operationsastroturfing and censorshipmanifest at the advent of a collective action event in an Indo-Pacific region? (RQ2) How can we describe operations in terms of an ecology of U.S.-based platforms and Chinese-based platforms that convey a Chinese strategicdecision-making perspective for the Indo-Pacific region? (RQ3) How can we use both online and offline data observations to inform new cross-cultural theory in social interaction? (RQ4) Can we validate a model that connects online and offline activities for Chinese influence operations in the Indo-Pacific?To answer these research questions, this project will combine data-centric analysis with social science theories of collective action. Specifically, it will create a model of Chinese activities in the Indo-Pacific region by synthesizing framing theory of collective action, which describes the processes of how events are contextualized, and event conceptualization, which analyzes cognitive-level frames including variability across cultures. The research will examine the interaction of frames and counter-frames as tactical activities through data collection of narrative events. The value of this approach is to provide the Chinese perspective on events in addition to the U.S. lens.The project will be conducted along the following symbiotic lines of inquiry: 1) frame and counter-frame identification and 2) frame evolution. There will be three distinct phases of research, each resulting in key outcomes. Phase 1 involves identifying the best collective action use case that aligns with national security strategies. As a byproduct of data collection, the research will also offer data collection frameworks and principles that will be useful to setup similar collection pipeline for investigating other collective action scenarios in the Indo-Pacific region. Phase 2 involves empirically mapping of framing strategies to detect and measure influence vectors. Phase 2 will result in novel computational techniques to visualize such frames. The outcome of Phase 2 feeds into Phase 3. Phase 3 will result in a web interface to conduct interpretive, mixed method analysis of the data collected in phase 1. The visualization of the informationmodel in action that has been created from the two framing theories will facilitate learning, planning, and knowledge sharing for the defense community.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Nov 09, 2020
- Source ID
- N000142114001
Entities
People
- Tanushree Mitra
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Washington