X Rejects Complaints About Deepfake Abuse Targeting Chinese Activist in UK
Apple Peiqing Ni, a 27-year-old Chinese activist based in the UK, reported that X's automated systems rejected her complaints about deepfake posts depicting her as a drug user and sexually promiscuous, despite the platform's stated rules against harassment. The account was only suspended after The Guardian contacted X's press office about the rejections. The incident raises questions about X's content moderation systems and their effectiveness in protecting activists from coordinated abuse.
Apple Peiqing Ni, founder of the UK-based China Dissent Network, was targeted with at least 12 deepfake posts on X that included fake photographs and videos portraying her as a drug addict and sexually promiscuous individual. After UK police advised her to report the abuse to X, the platform's automated systems rejected her complaints, stating the posts did not breach rules on harassment or violent speech, despite X's stated policy against "malicious, unreciprocated targeting" intended to humiliate or degrade individuals. A follow-up complaint to X's support service was also rejected. The account was only suspended hours after The Guardian raised the issue with X's press office and requested an explanation; X subsequently claimed it had acted in response to "different reports." Ni, who moved to the UK in 2019 and has been working on free speech campaigns for Hong Kong and Chinese students, stated that her parents in China have been contacted by secret police regarding her activism overseas. The incident highlights potential gaps in X's content moderation systems, particularly regarding harassment of Chinese dissident voices.
What's missing
The article does not provide X's official statement or explanation for why the initial complaints were rejected, or details about what specific "different reports" led to the account's suspension. Additionally, there is no information about whether the deepfakes were created using AI tools or other methods, or whether the account has been definitively linked to pro-regime actors.
What different sources said
Chinese activist in UK told by X that abusive deepfakes do not breach rules
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