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Comment by scoofy

7 hours ago

I mean let's not pretend that an app on the vast majority of peoples phones isn't a non-trivial vector for a zero-day attack.

If there is an invasion of Taiwan, I don't think it would be unthinkable that everyone's phones being broken wouldn't be a major tactical and political advantage of shifting the US's priorities and political will in the short run.

Sure, it burns the asset in the process, but I mean... this has been a priority for an entire century.

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scoofy

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8note  7 hours ago

i dont think fhats the right attack? the influential use of tiktok sould be sharing propaganda like the US did about the iraq war "we did it and the taiwanese people are excited to be liberated and reunified with china"

along with details about how the US has no defensive alliance with taiwan, and that the US does not need to intervene

  • insane_dreamer  6 hours ago

    I agree; the Tiktok algorithm would be used to subtly shift public opinion rather than something overt that burns their assets

    This is a very realistic scenario. It doesn't mean people will suddenly see messages from the CCP on their screens. It could mean that posts that are critical of China are subtly downweighted (not banned, that would be too obvious and problematic) while those favorable towards China would be upweighted.

    One thing the CCP is quite good at, from its long experience of always controlling the narrative in China, is this type of social media manipulation.

  • scoofy  6 hours ago

    Ehh... I just disagree, even if I agree that my concern is wildly speculative. The isolationist right already has them covered there. If they can take the island, it's over. The US is not going to mount an invasion to save Taiwan, but will sell them weapons and help defend it.

    If they can't take the island quickly, then maybe propaganda helps. I just think neutering or nuking everyone's phones for a few days is enough to genuinely split the attention of the American people. I think it's very safe to say our culture cares much more about it's butter than it's guns right now. We are decadent.

IgorPartola  6 hours ago

That's every popular app.

  • scoofy  6 hours ago

    Yes, but my point is that TikTok is the most downloaded app in the United States, with apparently about 100 million installs. I'm just looking at reports on various sites.

    Edit: other sites put YouTube, and others higher with TikTok at 40% of phones.

    Nothing else controlled by the CCP looks like it even comes close to that in America.