• 54 Posts
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Joined 3 months ago
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Cake day: August 4th, 2025

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  • Its mostly the same stuff as on amazon and costs 1/4

    This is a myth that is not true. Temu and other Chinese platforms are using their own platforms (similar to Chinese industrial companies that are using their own integrated supply chains, btw). This is not the same as on Amazon or any other Western company. Shein only recently announced that it intends to open up its own supply chain to other brands as rising tariffs on Chinese imports in the U.S. have increased pressure on the company’s retail margins.

    This fact is also important to recognize. It’s supposedly the main reason why China opposes transparent supply chains to fight forced labor and protect workers’ and consumer rights.
















  • This is an overly simplified narrative imo. It is true that autocracies like China and Russia are using (also) legitimate critique - but not to improve the system but to exploit them for their own ends.

    The ‘appeal’ is, therefore, a false one, if and when it even exists. Foreign malign influence -disinformation and misinformation campaigns, arson, cyber attacks, and other acts of sabotage - wouldn’t even be necessary if people in poorer states in Europe and elsewhere would deliberately prefer China and Russia as an alternative. But people simply don’t.

    I personally think that people know well that their future lies in democracies and the often cited rule of law, which is why dictatorships spend billions for campaigns, and use coercion, intimidation, repression to pursue the dictators’ - not the people’s - benefit.

    Moldova is a good recent example where foreign influence has failed, Taiwan is another one not long ago. It’s everything but sure, as we all know, that the future is as bright. Europe and other free nations must urgently develop a tougher stance against these malign tactics imo.


  • The most recent European External Action Service (EEAS) Report on Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) Threats, published in May 2025, says that

    while Russian and Chinese operations differ in structure and emphasis, their efforts increasingly converge in both tactics and objectives. While some experts note the cooperation between these two actors has been largely opportunistic, the EEAS report’s network analysis reveals deeper functional convergence. Russian and Chinese FIMI ecosystems increasingly synchronise narratives, especially around major geopolitical events, such as the 1000-day mark of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine – when both states blamed NATO and the West for escalating the conflict. Their media outlets and diplomatic accounts regularly amplify each other’s content, forming digital bridges that help spread anti-Western narratives across regions like Africa, Latin America and the Balkans.

    Both nations have also aligned their strategies in deploying disinformation campaigns intended to fracture social cohesion and undermine democratic institutions. China’s expansive “Spamouflage” campaign, known for impersonating human rights organisations to spread anti-Western narratives, parallels Russia’s extensive use of state-sponsored media and digital platforms to amplify divisive content and discredit Western foreign policies.

    Emphasis mine.

    The entire report makes an illuminating read. It includes case studies on Russian campaigns in Moldova and Africa and one operation originating from China, illustrating how FIMI networks tailor their strategies to geopolitical shifts and local contexts.

    Download: 3rd EEAS Report on Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference Threats (pdf)