Accounts Related To The Chinese Government Promote DeepSek AI Before Falling US Technological Shares

DeepSek uses US-made chips that are prohibited from being sent to China (photo: dock. special)

JAKARTA Social media accounts related to the Chinese government are reportedly massively promoting the launch of DeepSeek artificial intelligence (AI) models, just days before the drop in US technology stocks. This was revealed in a report from online analysis firm Graphika.

In a report given to Reuters, Graphika revealed that these accounts include those owned by Chinese diplomats, embassies, and state media "raise news about DeepSee and highlight claims that the technology challenges US dominance in the AI sector. These narratives are spread through various platforms, including X (former Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, as well as Chinese social media services such as Toutiao and Weibo.

"These findings show how China is rapidly mobilizing various actors to embed and strengthen the online narrative that describes Beijing as a leader in geopolitical competitions, particularly in the development of advanced AI," said Jack Stubbs, Chief Intelligence Officer of Graphika.

Graphika also found videos with pro-China and anti-Western content on YouTube, which resembled a coordinated influence campaign pattern called "Shadow Play." A similar campaign was previously identified by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in 2023.

Alphabet, owner of YouTube, and Meta and X have not yet responded to this report. The Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC also did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

The Graphika report noted a small spike in discussions related to DeepSek compared to ChatGPT as soon as the AI model launch was on January 20. However, a much larger increase in discussions began Friday and continued to grow throughout the weekend.

On Monday, January 27, DeepSek's free AI assistant surpassed ChatGPT in the number of downloads on Apple's App Store, while global investors started selling US tech stocks on a massive scale. As a result, Nvidia lost a market value of 593 billion US dollars in one day the biggest loss any company has ever experienced on Wall Street.

Nvidia declined to comment on Graphika's report.

DeepSek claims it developed a much lower-cost AI model than US competitors, sparking fears of a potential price war between Chinese and US technology companies that have invested tens of billions of dollars in AI data centers.

Microsoft shares, which are OpenAI's main investors, plunged earlier this week after the company revealed cloud revenue growth was slower than expected, despite investing heavily in AI.

In China, DeepSek's success is welcomed as proof that the country has successfully fought Washington's efforts to limit its technology industry through restrictions on technology exports.

On the other hand, in the US, DeepSek is accused of illegally accessing OpenAI technology and other industry leaders, although these allegations have not been proven.

The US Department of Commerce is investigating whether DeepSek is using US-made chips banned from being shipped to China, according to a source familiar with the matter.