Chinese state-run social media accounts amplified narratives related to the launch of AI models by the Chinese startup DeepSeek last week, just days before the news sent US tech stocks tumbling, according to data from analytics firm Graphika.
Accounts involved in these efforts, including Chinese diplomats, embassies, and state-run media, amplified coverage of the launch in the media and promoted the idea that DeepSeek is challenging US dominance in the artificial intelligence sector, New York-based Graphika said in a report it provided to Reuters on Thursday.
The messaging exchange unfolded on platforms such as Elon Musk's X and Meta Platforms (META.O), Facebook, and Instagram, as well as Chinese services Toutiao and Weibo, Graphika reports.
“This activity shows how China can quickly mobilize a number of actors who sow and spread online narratives portraying Beijing as surpassing the US in critical areas of geopolitical competition, including the race to develop and deploy cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology,” said Graphika’s chief intelligence officer, Jack Stubbs, to Reuters.
“We constantly see both open and covert Chinese state-linked actors as among the first movers in using AI to scale their operations in the information environment.”
Graphika also said it found videos with pro-China, anti-Western content on a YouTube channel, whose activity resembled a Shadow Game, a coordinated influence campaign involving at least 30 YouTube channels that was first detected by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in 2023.
YouTube owner Alphabet (GOOGL.O), Meta, X, and the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report.
Graphika said it detected a small spike in discussions comparing DeepSeek’s achievements with OpenAI’s ChatGPT on X immediately after DeepSeek released its models on January 20, followed by a much larger spike that began on Friday and continued through the weekend.
By Monday, DeepSeek’s free AI assistant surpassed its American rival, ChatGPT, in the number of downloads from the Apple (AAPL.O) App Store, and global investors dumped shares of US tech companies, wiping out $593 billion from chipmaker Nvidia’s (NVDA.O) market value in the largest one-day loss for any company on Wall Street.
Nvidia declined to comment on the Graphika report.
DeepSeek researchers claim they developed aspects of their AI model at much lower costs than US competitors, raising concerns that American companies, which have invested billions into AI data centers, could face a price war with China.
Shares of Microsoft (MSFT.O), a major investor in OpenAI, which operates data centers on behalf of ChatGPT’s creator, fell earlier this week when the company reported slower-than-expected cloud revenue growth, continuing to pour billions into capital expenditures.
Microsoft and Meta have pledged to continue their deep investments in AI for the foreseeable future.
DeepSeek’s rise to prominence has been seen in China as a sign that the nation is countering Washington’s attempts to curb China’s tech industry through technology export restrictions.
In the US, DeepSeek’s achievements have raised accusations that it improperly accessed technology from OpenAI and other leaders, although the accusations remain unproven.
The US Department of Commerce is investigating whether DeepSeek used American chips that are prohibited from being sent to China, a person familiar with the matter said.