US members of Congress warn new Twitter CEO of China's malign activity on platform

At least fourteen Republican members of Congress have written to the newly appointed Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal congratulating him on becoming new head of the social media giant and urging him not to allow Twitter to turn to a conduit for the Chinese “malign propaganda,” US Foreign Affairs Committee stated in a press release on Dec. 16. Twitter, they asserted, is an unparalleled platform to share ideas, spread information, and give everyone a voice. But sometimes, it can also mislead and amplify the adversaries’ propaganda. 

It then alleged that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been using Twitter—a platform that is blocked in the People’s Republic of China, for pushing anti-democracy agenda, and for suppression of human rights and freedom of speech. 

In a joint letter to the social media giant, the members of the Congress wrote: “Today, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is using Twitter - a platform that is blocked in China - to spread its disinformation on the peaceful pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, the origins of COVID, the ongoing genocide in Xinjiang, and disappearance of athletes, around the world.” 

Furthermore, the letter stated, "We hope you take your new leadership position at Twitter as an opportunity to address these concerns and ensure your platform is not corrupted and abused by the Chinese Communist Party.” The document was signed by the congressional China Task Force chairman Michael McCaul and Representatives Andy Barr, Liz Cheney, Mike Gallagher, Michael Waltz, Darin LaHood, Guy Reschenthaler, Robert Wittman, Neal Dunn, Mark Green, Mike Garcia, Austin Scott, Diana Harshbarger and Young Kim. The members stressed that they hope the Indian origin Twitter CEO’s new leadership will bring about a renewed, healthy discourse between Congress and Twitter. 

Twitter a platform for China's 'misinformation' about COVID-19 origin

The Congress also stressed that it was “particularly concerned” about Twitter hosting misinformation about the origins of COVID-19. “One such example is from Chen Xiaodong—Chinese Ambassador to South Africa— who began tweeting in March 2020 attempting to spread disinformation about the origins of COVID having begun in the United States,” it said. Members added, that such claims are patently false, and in fact, have been disproved by a report from the House Foreign Affairs Committee Republicans. By May, last year, the CCP pushed out 90,000 tweets from 200 diplomatic and state media accounts in a COVID-19 information war offensive, stated the US Congress members, adding that China had been using the platform to obfuscate the true origins of COVID-19 and shift culpability to the US. In the document, the members also expressed concerns about the CCP using Twitter to cover up the ongoing genocide of the Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities.

“It is imperative that Twitter not allow these lies to live on its platform and they should be deleted immediately,” said the Republican members of Congress. They added, “While we are glad that Twitter eventually deleted this particular tweet, there are many others that are still up on the platform, for instance, one from Zhao Lijian—Deputy Director of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs—that outright denies any genocide in Xinjiang. We urge Twitter to remove this tweet and others like it immediately.” 

The US Congress members expressed concerns about the tweets from multiple PRC state media accounts spreading false assurances related to tennis star Peng Shuai’s safety, who earlier this year, accused a senior CCP party official of sexual assault. “We hope you take your new leadership position at Twitter as an opportunity to address these concerns and ensure your platform is not corrupted and abused by the Chinese Communist Party,” the letter stated.