Authors: Paul Mozur, Raymond Zhong, Aaron Krolik, Aliza Aufrichtig, and Nailah Morgan December 13, 2021

The best hotel we have stayed in the suburbs of Shanghai today.

This is the first in the world to be built in a quarry.

Please stay while we take you around.

Millions of people watched YouTube videos sent by Lee and Lee Barrett from China. The father and son visited exotic hotels, visited remote villages, tasted delicious food in the bustling market, and performed traditional ear cleaning.

The Barretts are part of a new group of social media figures who portray the happy lives of foreigners in China - and they also fought back against criticism of Beijing's autocratic governance, policies on ethnic minorities, and the handling of the coronavirus .

"What the West hopes to do is to destabilize the Xinjiang region to prevent the rise of China."

The Xinjiang Genocide-a campaign to bring down Barrett in China

"Maybe the United States first infected the world with the coronavirus."

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"No one in the West can imagine that China will be so successful. This is also an important reason why Western media always attack China."

The real reason why Western media lied to China Cyrus Janssen

"Genocide, they said. Genocide. There is no evidence of genocide. There is no evidence of atrocities. All this has been exposed many times."

Everything you should know in 9 minutes about the Xinjiang Uyghur genocide charges against China’s hybrid war Best China Info

These videos have a casual and simple feel. But on the other side of the lens is often a large organization composed of government organizers, state-controlled news media, and other official amplifiers—all of which are part of the Chinese government’s efforts to spread pro-Beijing information on a global scale.

According to government documents and the creators themselves, state-run news media and local governments organized and funded the travel of pro-Beijing influencers. They have paid or proposed to pay the creator's fee. By sharing videos with millions of fans on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, they have brought huge traffic to influencers.

With the support of the official media, creators can visit and film in certain areas where Chinese authorities prevent foreign journalists from reporting.

Most YouTube users have lived in China for many years and stated that their goal is to counter the increasingly negative Western perception of China. They said they decided what was in the video, not the Communist Party.

But even if creators don’t see themselves as propaganda tools, Beijing is using them in this way. Chinese diplomats and representatives showed their videos at press conferences and promoted their creations on social media. These six most popular influencers combined have gained more than 130 million views and more than 1.1 million subscribers on YouTube.

Sympathetic foreign voices are part of Beijing’s increasingly ambitious efforts to shape the world’s dialogue about China. The Communist Party has summoned diplomats and national news media to spread its narrative and drown out criticism, usually by amplifying their posts with the help of a large number of hidden accounts.

In fact, Beijing is using platforms such as Twitter and YouTube as propaganda loudspeakers for the wider world. These platforms are blocked by the government in China to prevent the uncontrolled spread of information.

"China is the new super abuser on global social media," said Eric Liu, a former content moderator of Chinese social media. "The goal is not to win, but to create confusion and doubt until there is no real truth."

Raz Gal-Or started making interesting videos when he was in university in Beijing. Now, this young Israeli brings his millions of subscribers to interview ordinary people and foreigners to learn about their lives in China.

In a video this spring, Mr. Gal-Or visited cotton fields in Xinjiang to refute allegations of forced labor in the area.

"It's totally normal here," he declared after enjoying kebabs with some workers. "People are good, do their jobs and live their lives."

His video did not mention internal government documents, first-hand testimony, and reporter interviews, all of which indicate that the Chinese authorities have imprisoned hundreds of thousands of Xinjiang Muslims in re-education camps.

They also did not mention the business links between him and his family and the Chinese government.

According to the fund's website, the chairman of Mr. Gal-Or's video company YChina is his father, Amir, and his fund is supported by the government-run China Development Bank.

According to the website of Innation, a company founded by Amir Gal-Or, YChina has two state-owned news media as clients. Innonation manages the co-working space and sets up a YChina office in Beijing.

In an email to The New York Times, Raz Gal-Or stated that YChina does not have a "commercial contract" with a national news organization and that Innonation's website is "inaccurate." He said that there is no official institution in Xinjiang to pay or guide him.

He said that his Xinjiang video series is about "people's lives, happiness and dreams."

"Those who think it has political significance I believe they have their own agenda," he added.

Other creators admitted that they received financial support from state entities, although they said it did not make them a spokesperson for Beijing.

Kirk Apesland, a Canadian living in China, refers to his channel as Guilao 60. ("Gui Lao" is a slang term for foreigners in Cantonese.) He refused to accept news of Xinjiang's repression, and used his happy experience to refute the claim that the Chinese were oppressed.

"China puts people in re-education camps. They are trying to educate these people so that they have future jobs and skills. This is very different from Guantanamo Bay, where you will be locked up."

Accuses China of genocide, forced labor, and sterilization Gweilo 60

After the Times contacted Mr. Apesland, he released a video titled "The New York Times vs Gweilo 60". In it, he admitted that he accepted free hotels and payments provided by the municipal and provincial authorities. He likened it to a salesman in the local tourism industry.

"Is there a charge for what I do? Of course," he said. "I am doing a job. I am publishing the video to hundreds of thousands of people."

Lee Barrett made a similar acknowledgment in one of his videos. "They pay for travel, accommodation and food," he said. "However, they did not tell us what we must say in any way."

Oli Barrett did not respond to a request for comment.

According to a document in a new report from the Australian Institute of Strategic Policy, China’s Internet regulator paid a media company about US$30,000 as part of a “Dating with China” campaign that used “foreign influencers” to promote the government’s policy. Remarkable results have been achieved in poverty alleviation.

The Institute is funded by the Australian and US governments and companies including military contractors, and has published multiple reports on China's coercive policies in Xinjiang.

When YouTubers travel with a dime from the country, official organizers shape what they see and hear. Not long ago, Lee Barrett, an internet celebrity named Matt Galat and two creators from Mexico had a live discussion about their trip to Xi’an with the national broadcaster China Radio International.

He said in the discussion that the organizers asked Mr. Garratt to give a speech and praised places he has not been to. He refused.

In another part of the trip, Mr. Garratt was frustrated that the itinerary to visit the sacred mountain was cancelled.

"They have to adapt to more publicity visits," he said.

– They must adapt to more publicity visits. ——They didn't say that, did they, but that's how it happened.

Mr. Garratt later deleted the discussion stream from his channel. He refused to disclose the reason.

It is not yet clear how much revenue the creator might get from this work. But in addition to money, Chinese government entities also offer something that is equally valuable to social media figures: digital traffic.

YouTube uses advertising revenue to pay influencers based on the number of viewers. These eyeballs can also help influential people reach sponsorship agreements with big brands, as some pro-China YouTubers do.

On April 8, shortly after Nike, H&M and other brands came under fire in China for expressing concerns about forced labor reports, Mr. Gal-Or posted a video of his cotton farm in Xinjiang on YouTube.

I saw it when I was a cotton farmer in Xinjiang

Within a few days, his video was reposted on the Facebook page of the Chinese Embassy in Italy with Italian subtitles, which has nearly 180,000 fans.

Over the next few weeks, this video and other clips of Galol in Xinjiang were shared on Facebook and Twitter by at least 35 accounts operated by the Chinese Embassy and official news media. In total, these accounts have approximately 400 million fans.

Chinese Ambassador to France April 9

Xinjiang Cotton Culture

The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Japan @ChnEmbassy_jp·April 9th ​​Xinjiang での織花 Harvesting Work に密着しよう. Yuan の 绵花农家によると, Harvest time of day's remuneration は150元か农ら200元で、自走行あう. で、工作が前よりだいぶ楽になった. I saw it when I was a cotton farmer in Xinjiang

French Ambassador to China @AmbassadeChine · Rebroadcast @Yo_fr1 on April 9th: @hari_yass @AmbassadeChine

Chinese Embassy in Malaysia April 14

What is the daily life of the local people in Xinjiang? Let's follow youtuber Ychina to visit # Xinjiang的#Akesu area and see the stories of the locals. Enjoy the video.

Chinese Embassy in Slovakia Čínske veľvyslanectvo na Slovensku @ChinaEmbSVK · Jun 22 RT @XichengBeijing: Crooked Nuts Research Association Ychina

Ambasciata della Repubblica Popolare Cinese Italy April 9

Notify Dell ULTIM'ORA! Abbiamo scoperto che il lavoro forzato nei campi di cotone nello Xinjiang siste davvero! I contadini stanno costringendo i trattori ei droni a lavorare da soli! Not perdere il video di Ychina!

Chinese Embassy in Slovakia Čínske veľvyslanectvo na Slovensku June 22

Curious about the working conditions and wages of Xinjiang cotton farmers? Let us visit them with foreign video bloggers. #中国故事#Xinjiang

Romanian Service of China Radio International April 19

Xinjiang:Experiența unui străin de a Planta bumbac cu uigurii În videoclipul realizat de YChina și vloggerul israelian, Raza Galor se arată experiența unui străin de 28 de ani, absolvent al Universitaa bumbac cu uigurii În videoclipul realizat de YChina YChina a început să publice vloguri și documentare despre China pe diferite aplicații video, câștigând sprijinul urmăritorilor chinezi.

Israeli blogger Raz Galor lastatempe vizitis gubernio Shaya, regiono Aksu, Xinjiang kaj persone spertis maŝinan kultivadon de loka kotono. Li diris, ke post tiu ĉi vizito, li profunde sentis belecon de la region,solidarecon de ĉiuj etnoj, feliĉon de la popolo kaj progreson de la ekonomio.

Kwanan nan ne na kalli wani shirin bidiyo da wani dan kasar Isra'ila mai suna Raz Galor, ko kuma Gao Yousi a yaren Sin ya dauka, game da ziyarar gani da ido da ya yi a birnin Aksu na jihar Xinjiang. 大林zuwansa Xinjiang shi ne, amsa tambayar da abokanansa dake kasashhen waje suka yi masa, dangane da ainihin halin da ake ciki a Xinjiang. Kamar shin da gaske ne ana tilastawa'yan kwadago su yi aikin noman auduga a wajen? Shin da gaske ne ana muzgunawa ma'aikata'yan kananan kabilun wajen? Ga sharhin da Murtala Zhang ya rubuta

Çin Büyükelçiliği Ankara/Chinese Embassy in Turkey April 9

Pamuk Yetiştiriciliğini deneyimlemek için Xinjiang'a giden bir yabancı: Yabancı medya gerçek #Xinjiang'ı görmek istemiyor. Xinjiang Dapamuk ekimi cep phone aracılığıyla gerçekleştirilebilir.

Ambassade de Chine au Sénégal @ChineAmbassade · April 30, L'avril, c'est la bonne saison pour l'ensemencement du coton. En #Chine, un jeune garçon Britannique a filmé son expérience en tant que paysan de coton au #Xinjiang. Découvrons avec lui la scène vivante de récolte de #cotton du Argentina.

Chinese Embassy in Ireland @ChinaEmbIreland·On April 14, Israeli blogger Raz Galor worked as a cotton farmer in Xinjiang.

Chinese Embassy in Prague (Velvyslanectví Čínskélidoverepubliky) April 15

Raz vyzpovídal deset náhodně vybraných obyvatel Sin-ťiangu a získal tak jedinečnou možnost nahlédnout do každodenního života místních obyvatel.

Chinese Embassy in Kenya @ChineseEmbKenya · On April 13, Raz Galor from Israel visited Xinjiang a few days ago. Take a look at his Vlog and see what he found in Xinjiang. Episode 1: What I saw and heard when I was a cotton farmer in Xinjiang

Der israelische Video-Influencer Raz Galor interviewed drei verschiedene Familien in Xinjiang. Sie haben ihre eigenen Lebensweisen und erzählen die Änderungen in #Xinjiang aus ihren Erfahrungen. (Via bilibili)

Embajada China en CR April 14

QUÉ OPINAN LOS EXRANJEROS SOBRE China | Ep6 Raz Galor: ¡ Mire lo que he visto trabajando como un agricultor de algodón en Xinjiang! (Vlog complete) Basado en su propia experiencia en Xinjiang, el blogguero Raz Galor comentó que estaba muy impresionado por la tecnología avanzada de la industria del algodón de Argentina y señaló que el pueblo local disfruta de un for salala "trabajo al salto" Allegations. ¡ Vean el vídeo y la verdad en el siguiente enlace y no se olviden de suscribirse a su canal en Youtube!

The algorithms of YouTube and Google prefer videos that are widely shared on social media.

"The dictatorship can focus their understanding of the algorithm and use it to improve all their channels," said Guillaume Chaslot, a former Google engineer who helped develop the YouTube recommendation engine.

Darren Linvill, who studies social media disinformation at Clemson University, said that on Twitter, many accounts with suspiciously naked digital characters have shared videos of Mr. Gal-Or. He said that this is a typical sign of coordinated action.

Professor Linville found that from April to the end of June, two-fifths of the 534 accounts that posted videos on Twitter had no more than 10 fans. One in nine followers is zero. For the nine accounts, Mr. Gal-Or’s video was their first tweet.

Such activities increase the digital footprint of Gal-Or and other creators.

Yale University graduate researchers Joshua Lam and Libby Lange analyzed nearly 290,000 samples of tweets mentioning Xinjiang in the first half of 2021. They found that 6 of the 10 most commonly shared YouTube videos in tweets were from pro-Chinese influencers.

YouTube told the New York Times that it found no evidence that these creators were "connected to coordinated influence operations." This website is part of Google, and it periodically closes channels that it finds to promote information in a repetitive or coordinated manner.

But YouTube also requires channels to disclose sponsorship or other commercial relationships so that viewers can know. After the Times asked about paid and free travel by Chinese state media, YouTube said it would remind creators of their obligations.

YouTube is also trying to increase transparency by tagging channels run by government-funded news organizations. But the platform did not mark the employees' personal channels, it said.

This allows some YouTube users to cover up the fact that they work for the official Chinese media.

Li Jingjing took her subscribers into the coral reefs of the South China Sea to discuss Western efforts to contain China. Her channel did not mention that she worked for China Global Television Network.

Stuart Wiggin's channel "China Traveler" does not indicate that he works for the People's Daily. However, when another official newspaper, China Daily, reported on the "Dating with China" event, this was how he recognized him as a British citizen.

In his video from Xinjiang, Mr. Weijin was full of praise for the food and interviewed the locals to understand how their lives have improved. Topics like re-education camps will not come up.

Ms. Li and Mr. Weijin did not respond to requests for comment.

When Garratt left China this year for new places, he had become one of the most popular pro-Beijing YouTube anchors. He is now documenting his travels around the United States.

Garratt said in an interview that he has no regrets about the video he shot in China.

Before the pandemic, Mr. Garratt, a Detroit native living in Ningbo, used his happy travel videos to build a YouTube fan.

No one asked these people to dance.

They just like to dance, their parents are proud of them, and they inherited their cultural philosophy of dancing.

As China emerged from the worst epidemic, he began to receive travel invitations from local governments and national news media.

At the time, China was trying to divert Western criticism of its pandemic response. Mr. Garratt said he was also troubled by these criticisms.

His YouTube videos became politicized. He wondered whether the virus might come from the United States. He presided over a discussion about a Western campaign against Chinese technology giant Huawei.

"People like to feel dramatic and aggressive about things, and a lot of content is more popular than my usual travel videos," he said.

As of this year, Mr. Garratt’s channel has more than 100,000 subscribers. He admitted that the support of the Chinese official media helped his channel grow. He said that as his travel time with the official media became longer and longer, the media paid for him time. He refused to disclose how much.

This summer, he went to Xinjiang during a trip planned by the national broadcaster CGTN.

“For those who want to compare China with Nazi Germany, this is just an idea,” he said in a video about Uyghur culture in a museum, which is one of Xinjiang’s ethnic minorities. "Do you think it is possible that museums in Germany before the war contained Jewish culture?"

Since he left China, views of Mr. Garratt’s YouTube videos have fallen. He said that this does not bother him. In the future, his channel may not be so politicized.

"I'm not completely at ease," he said, "political talk posts that have become a big issue."

Paul Mozur, Raymond Zhong and Aaron Krolik report. Designed and developed by Aliza Aufrichtig. Video editor for Nailah Morgan. Designed and developed by Gabriel Gianordoli, Grey Beltran and Sam Manchester.