China Used TikToker, ‘Real Housewives’ Star to Promote Beijing Olympics in Controversial Campaign
Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images
China used various celebrities, including a Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star and social media “brand king,” to promote the Beijing Winter Olympics in ads that were not properly marked as such, according to a new report.
The Chinese Consulate in New York forked over $300,000 to Vippi Media to acquire influencers who could put out posts promoting the Olympic games, which were mired in controversy because of the Beijing designation. Details about the posts were filed with the Justice Department this week after a recent Associated Press report on China pushing “propaganda” through social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
Vippi Media, a New Jersey-based company, reached approximately four million people with their China-related posts, according to The Associated Press. The “influencers” chosen for the campaign included Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Crystal Kung Minkoff, Paralympic swimmer Jessica Long, and TikTok creator Ryan Dubs.
The posts themselves are mostly basic promotion material, including Minkoff playing musical chairs and then promoting the games, Long wishing everyone participating in the event makes “lasting memories,” and Dubs interviewing Huang Ping, China’s Consul General in New York. Dubs has described himself as a social media “brand king.” All of the posts were made in the first three months of 2022.
While the $300,000 figure has been reported, it’s unclear what each influencer was paid for their contributions. According to the earlier Associated Press report last month, Vippi Media had not filed anything with the Justice Department about their China-sponsored Olympics campaign. They would have been required to do so under the Foreign Registrations Act, which is meant to track foreign influence on public opinion.
The Justice Department has not officially commented on the influencer campaign, and the influencers remain uncharacteristically silent.
