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Key Points
- In the lead-up to the 2025 federal election, some political candidates have turned to Chinese social media platforms like WeChat and RedNote to reach voters.
- These candidates are mostly running in electorates with large Chinese-Australian populations or have Chinese backgrounds themselves.
- Experts and voters have raised concerns about AI-generated content, platform censorship, and one-way political messaging.
“Whether it’s Chinese, Korean, or any other language’s social media, it’s about making sure as many Australians as possible — regardless of background — can fully understand the information and make the best choices,” he told SBS Chinese.
During Lunar New Year celebrations, Bennelong candidate, Scott Yung, posted a photo of himself wearing traditional Korean attire which was re-shared on Chinese social media. Credit: Instagram/Scott Yung
People with Chinese ancestry made up the largest ethnic group in Bennelong, accounting for 28.8 per cent of the population.
Meanwhile, RedNote, has gained increasing popularity in Australia with an estimated 70,000 monthly users and around 350 million users worldwide.
Deepfake Dutton videos
Though the video was taken down by the creator, another digitally altered video featuring Dutton remained on the platform, titled “Peter Dutton and His Lies About the Housing Crisis”.
There are digitally altered videos of Peter Dutton on Chinese social media. Credit: RedNote screenshot
In the video, Dutton was AI-dubbed in Mandarin, saying: “Hello, my young friends. I really care about the housing crisis.”
In an interview with SBS Chinese, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said she was aware that many Chinese Australians relied on platforms like WeChat and RedNote for information, and these platforms had become key battlegrounds for election campaigning.
SBS Mandarin has learned that Senator Wong does not have accounts on RedNote or WeChat. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
“In this election, people will hear your voices on SBS, but they’ll also see and hear content on social media and follow discussions in the community,” she said.
“So, ensuring people understand our policies — what (opposition leader) Dutton is saying, what Prime Minister Albanese is saying — is crucial. People need to know the differences between the two parties,” she said.
A wide mix of both reliable and unreliable content
Many other candidates and independents of Chinese background — including Sam Lim, the sitting MP for Tangney; Liberal candidate for Sydney Alex Xu; independent candidate for Bradfield Andy Yin; and Greens candidate for Bonner Wen Li — are also active on WeChat, RedNote, or both.
“Self-media uses ‘clickbait’ titles and promotes its own narratives. But if we see enough, we know what’s real and what’s not.”
Xiao Fan believes that the Chinese community generally has the ability to identify disinformation and misinformation online. Source: SBS / SBS Chinese
Dr Fan Yang, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Melbourne Law School, said since the 2022 federal election, the two major parties had expanded their political messaging onto Chinese-language social platforms, particularly WeChat, and now RedNote has become another key front.
“Some topics get censored on WeChat, and there are concerns about information security. For example, Clare O’Neil used to share policy translations via her personal ‘WeChat Moments’, but her account was deactivated during 2022-2023.”
Changing the way political messages are spread
“For example, candidates post themselves eating Chinese food in Chinatown or attending Chinese community events. Some MPs shoot videos in their office or home, making political content more vivid.”
Dr Fan Yang is studying the way political parties are using Chinese social media platforms. Source: Supplied / Dr Fan Yang
“RedNote has a very low bar to entry — you only need a valid phone number to register and start sharing short videos with Chinese-Australian voters.”
“If you search a politician’s name on RedNote, even if they have an account, you might not find them. You’ll only see their content if it’s pushed to you in your feed. Users have to follow the account to get updates,” she said.
There are multiple personal accounts on RedNote posting election-related information. Credit: RedNote screenshot
Since RedNote and WeChat are owned by Chinese companies and subject to Chinese government oversight, and given that former Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s WeChat account was once sold to a Chinese firm, there have been concerns in Australian political circles about the potential for foreign interference through these platforms.
SBS Mandarin sought comment from Dutton’s office about the AI-generated videos but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
