This article in the National Interest magazine warned of Beijing's efforts to influence the U.S. election using the popular Chinese-American messaging app WeChat, and that those efforts went relatively unnoticed in Washington. He said this should be changed.
The author of the article, Dr. Seth D. Kaplan, a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitz School of Advanced International Studies, pointed to Russian efforts to manipulate the U.S. election that has made headlines in recent years.
But he believes that China's attempts in this regard have achieved far more, because they were done overwhelmingly through WeChat. As the 2024 presidential election heats up, campaigns, voters and the federal government should be vigilant against the Chinese Communist Party's efforts to use this platform to influence U.S. elections.
The Chinese government was able to influence the US elections through this application, because it is not subject to the same regulations as other social media platforms in the United States.
WeChat was used in 2016 to organize rallies in support of former President Donald Trump and promote pro-Trump content; and 2020 to promote content in support of current President Joe Biden.
He pointed out that the Chinese government was able to influence the US elections through this application, because it is not subject to the same regulations as other social media platforms in the United States. He said the United States had a responsibility to protect its democracy from foreign interference.
WeChat is owned by Tencent, a Chinese company closely linked to the Chinese government, he said.
Given the difficulties of confiscating, repairing, and monitoring the app, Washington should simply ban it.