Is it the world’s first international user generated propaganda war?
Perhaps: the recent events in Tîbet have provoked some strong reactions on the Internet, particularly on Youtube where adherents of both sides of the debate are fighting it out for top search rankings on the term ‘Tîbet’ and ‘China’.
Currently, the top video for both search terms is is Tîbet was, is and always will be a part of China, but there’s a response to it called Tîbet is not, was not, will never be a part of China.
Then there’s a clip from an Israeli TV station about an anti-China demonstration in Tel Aviv, which someone has responded to by uploading Fréé Tîbet! & Your proud affiliations!, a clip from a National Geographic documentary about Himmler’s sending of envoys to Tibet in 1939. The clip includes a still photo of the envoys together with some Tîbetans, smiling underneath a wall adorned with a Nazi swastika flag.
The video posted earlier on Danwei, Riot in Tibet: True face of western media, has been copied to dozens of Youtube user accounts.
Although there are many clips from Western and Japanese TV news programs on Youtube, as far as the user generated propaganda wars, it seems the pro-China side is winning. At least when it comes to quantity.