Is xenophobia on Chinese social media teaching real-world hate?


By Li Yuan

Violent attacks on foreigners have prompted a debate about extreme nationalism online in a country that heavily censors information the government bans. — The New York Times

The video posted last year on Chinese social media showed more than 100 Japanese children, supposedly at an elementary school in Shanghai, gathered in their schoolyard. Chinese subtitles quoted two students leading the group as screaming: “Shanghai is ours. Soon the whole China will be ours, too.”

The messages were alarming and infuriating in China, which Japan invaded during World War II. Except that the scene actually took place at an elementary school in Japan. And the students were not stoking hatred of China; they were swearing an oath to play fair at what looked like a sporting event.

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