An Epoch Times investigation into China’s DeepSeek AI found that the chatbot is hard-coded with CCP censorship and propaganda.
China’s upstart artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot DeepSeek is making waves for its apparent ability to provide a ChatGPT competitor at a fraction of the development cost.
An Epoch Times examination of the app, however, found that it closely hews to the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), censoring responses critical of the regime and promoting views favorable to it.
Chinese media have referred to DeepSeek as the “Pinduoduo of AI,” a reference to the Chinese e-commerce firm that has succeeded by offering rock-bottom prices.
Liang Wenfeng, the person behind DeepSeek, is now showered with praise in China. During the Chinese New Year, tourists flocked to his hometown in Zhanjiang, a southern port city in Guangdong Province, and the local village put up giant banners welcoming Liang back for a visit. Some locals observed dozens of police officers accompanying him to the village, according to local Chinese media.
Further echoing a nationalist sentiment, some state-run news agencies and Chinese tech executives celebrated DeepSeek’s achievements to demonstrate that China has caught up with the United States in the AI race.
But DeepSeek’s continued proliferation of CCP censorship and propaganda means that any company adopting its flagship chatbot into their business will be unwittingly spreading the regime’s worldview.
Sharing Data With the Regime
DeepSeek had earned recognition from Chinese officials even before it made international headlines.
Liang was one of nine Chinese executives and civil sector members invited to speak at a conference that Chinese Premier Li Qiang chaired on Jan. 20, the same day DeepSeek released its AI model.
DeepSeek acknowledges in its privacy policy that it stores data on China-based servers, but security researchers now say there’s a deeper link between the company and Beijing. When deciphering a computer script on its login page, Canadian cybersecurity firm Feroot Security found code that can send user data to China Mobile, a top state-owned Chinese telecom company that is barred from operating in the United States.
Under Chinese law, companies must turn over data to Beijing upon request for national security purposes.
By Andrew Thornebrooke and Eva Fu
