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Steven Lee Myers
For Steven Lee Myers's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
The National Museum of China following the closing of the Second Session of the 14th National People's Congress in Beijing on March 11
WORLD / Politics
Apr 3, 2024
China’s advancing efforts to influence the U.S. election raise alarms
The accounts signal a potential shift in how Beijing aims to influence American politics, with more of a willingness to target specific candidates.
An advertisement for Lai Ching-te, whose presidential campaign was the target of an audio deepfake, in Taipei on Nov. 14. Ahead of a presidential election in January, Taiwanese fact checkers and watchdogs say they are ready for Beijing. But they are still worried.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 27, 2023
Can Taiwan continue to fight off Chinese disinformation?
Ahead of a presidential election in January, Taiwanese fact checkers and watchdogs say they are ready for Beijing. But they are still worried.
A home that was burned in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Kissufim, an Israeli kibbutz. Antisemitic and Islamophobic hate speech has soared on social media platforms since the war broke out between Hamas and Israel.
WORLD / Society
Nov 16, 2023
Antisemitic and anti-Islam hate speech surges across the internet
On Oct. 7, the day Hamas attacked Israel, the hashtag #HitlerWasRight appeared on X, formerly known as Twitter. Over the next month, more than 46,000 posts featured the hashtag, often alongside language that called for violence against Jews.
Motorists drive past a giant billboard depicting Muslim people walking with their national flags toward the Dome of the Rock shrine in Jerusalem, in central Tehran's Valiasr Square on Oct. 25.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 4, 2023
In a worldwide war of words, Russia, China and Iran back Hamas
Officials and researchers say the deluge of online propaganda and disinformation is larger than anything seen before.
The rubble of a home in Lahaina, on the Hawaiian island of Maui, on Aug. 16
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 14, 2023
China sows disinformation about Hawaii fires using new techniques
False posts carrying images apparently made using artificial intelligence put China among the first to have used these tools in such a campaign.
Leaders at Sweden's Psychological Defense Agency, a state agency, in Stockholm
WORLD / Society
Aug 14, 2023
Sweden is not staying neutral in Russia’s information war
Officials say the Kremlin has targeted Sweden with a concerted psychological campaign to discredit the country and undermine its bid to join NATO.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 27, 2023
Tweets become harder to believe as labels change meaning
The elimination of check marks that helped authenticate accounts has convulsed a platform that once seemed indispensable for following breaking news.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 7, 2022
Russia reactivates its trolls and bots ahead of U.S. midterms
Researchers have identified a series of Russian information operations to influence American elections and, perhaps, erode support for Ukraine.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 1, 2022
How China targets the global fish supply
With its own coastal waters depleted, China has built a global fishing operation unmatched by any other country.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 1, 2022
Elon Musk’s ties to China could create headaches for Twitter
Musk's investments in China could be at risk if Twitter upsets the Communist Party, which has banned the platform but used it extensively to push Beijing's foreign policy around the globe.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 12, 2022
China’s echoes of Russia’s alternate reality intensify globally
The campaign by China has further undercut the country's effort to present itself as a neutral actor in the war, eager to promote a peaceful resolution.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 23, 2022
China takes a back seat in international diplomacy over Ukraine
Despite calls from other world leaders to play a more proactive role in ending the conflict, China has instead tried to keep its distance.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 21, 2022
Truth is another front in Putin’s war
The Kremlin has used a barrage of increasingly outlandish falsehoods to prop up its overarching claim that the invasion of Ukraine is justified.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 15, 2022
China sees at least one winner emerging from Ukraine war: China
With a strategy to shield itself from the worst economic and diplomatic consequences it could face, China seeks to benefit from geopolitical shifts once the smoke clears.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Feb 19, 2022
Bots and fake accounts push China’s vision of winter Olympic wonderland
Inside the Potemkin village of China’s propaganda, the Winter Olympics have unfolded as an unalloyed success, a celebration of sports and political harmony that has obscured — critics say whitewashed — the country’s flaws and rights abuses.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Feb 13, 2022
China’s ice hockey squad shows a powerhouse’s weakness: team sports
The Chinese team in the Beijing Olympics could shock the Games. But it is more likely to underscore how little infrastructure the country has for team sports.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 4, 2022
In Beijing, the subject on everybody’s mind but not lips
Political activism has surfaced at many international events, including the Tokyo Olympics last summer, but no other host nation has been as strict as China in policing political dissent.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 3, 2022
In clash with U.S. over Ukraine, Putin has a lifeline from China
China has expressed support for Putin's grievances against the U.S. and NATO, and joined Russia to try to block action on Ukraine at the U.N. Security Council.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2022
For Olympic sponsors, ‘China is an exception’
The U.S. and a handful of other nations may have declared a 'diplomatic boycott” of the Winter Games, but some of the world's most famous brands will still be there.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 23, 2022
China’s Games: How Xi Jinping is staging the Olympics on his terms
No longer needing to prove its standing, China now wants to project the vision of a prosperous, confident nation under Xi, the country's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.

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