TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China has manipulated search engines to shape people’s perceptions and spread the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) propaganda, according to U.S. research group, the Brookings Institution.

A July 6 article carried by Brookings revealed how Chinese state media has dominated search results. The findings were produced through an investigation with the German Marshall Fund’s Alliance for Securing Democracy, looking at Google, Bing, and YouTube between November and February 2022.

Using search terms associated with "Xinjiang" and "COVID-19," research indicated that 21.5% of the top results, defined as the first 10 search results, were sourced from state-backed media on Google News and Bing News. The sources also accounted for 25% of top results on YouTube.

This means that users may be exposed to a one-sided perspective disseminated by Beijing-controlled media, said the report. Additionally, the report believes this could be an undercount given non-official media sources, including Beijing-backed influencers, were also discovered to have reposted information from state-media-generated content verbatim.

While users have been encouraged to keep a skeptical eye on online information, the article suggests improved awareness is needed when inquiring about contentious issues via online searches to avoid falling for disinformation.

Meanwhile, tech companies and publication platforms should also do more to disclose and label the sources of information for better search results. This will help curb authoritarian governments in their attempts to use search engines to advance their agenda, Brookings said.