A “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” TV star, a Paralympic swimmer and a self-proclaimed “brand king” influencer, new DOJ documents show The influencers on Instagram and TikTok, the international version of Douyin, are part of a deliberate public relations campaign paid by Chinese officials to promote the Beijing Winter Olympics.
The social media posts spread across various popular Instagram and TikTok accounts, with 5 million people following their videos, photos and content about travel destinations, sports, fashion and women's issues. The Chinese Consulate General in New York paid New Jersey-based Vippi Media $300,000 to recruit these social media influencers. The posts were not properly tagged with ads in the way that TikTok and Instagram require.
Jessica Brandt, an expert on foreign interference and disinformation at the Brookings Institution, said of China’s social media campaigns, “It allows them to expand the reach and reach of their message. repercussions, making it appear to be authentic, independent content.”
Documents filed with the U.S. Justice Department on Monday revealed more details about the social media operation. Just a few days ago, an Associated Press investigation showed that China is using the online and social media accounts of a wide range of influencers to subtly deliver propaganda to users around the world.
The Associated Press report found that Vippi Media has yet to submit an update to the Justice Department about its influencer's advocacy campaign, despite federal law requiring the company to do so within 24 hours of the material's dissemination. The company is registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938. The law is designed to let Americans know when a foreign entity is trying to influence public opinion or policymakers.
Vippi Media's campaign targeting U.S. social media users reached about 4 million users through ads by nearly a dozen social media influencers spread across stories, videos and posts on TikTok and Instagram in January, February and March. The accounts mentioned in the document shared Olympic promotional posts with the hashtags #Beijing2022, #partners and #advertising.
Much of what these influencers share on Instagram and TikTok is just to promote the Winter Olympics, share photos of ceremonial events, or offer insight into Chinese cultural practices.
Crystal Kung Minkoff, a Bravo TV "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" actress and listed as one of the influencers hired by Vippi Media, posted on her Instagram a clip of herself at home with her children A fake news-style broadcast that simulates the Olympic chair grab game. The post then congratulated "Team USA" and said Beijing was the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics. A message to Kong Linghua was not immediately returned.
Meanwhile, Paralympic winning swimmer and Instagram celebrity Jessica Long posted a post celebrating the upcoming Olympics to her nearly 100,000 followers on Jan. 27. "I wish you a lasting memory at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, China." Lang did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
One of the most notable videos came from TikTok influencer Ryan Dubs, the “King of Brands” who has more than 500,000 followers. He frequently promotes skincare products on TikTk.
Dubs released a 3-minute interview with Huang Ping, China's consulate general in New York, with Chinese and American flags behind him.
The title of the ad included the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics label. Huang Ping and Dubs condemned U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports. Dubs said he has great suppliers in China and encourages American entrepreneurs to do business with China. Huang Ping then invited American companies to China in the video. The video contains only brief references to the Beijing Olympics, in which Dubs said the Games "helped define China in 2022." Dubs did not immediately respond to The Associated Press' request for comment.
It's unclear how much each influencer gets paid for posting this content.
Kong Linghua, Long and Dubs used the hashtag #partner in their posts, but did not directly identify who sponsored the content. Instagram requires influencers to tag sponsors, and both TikTok and Instagram require their users to register posts as a paid partnership with the company. However, most influencers ignore these rules, leaving social media users unaware of who is paying for the posts they see in their feeds.
A Justice Department spokesman did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.