Caroline Cheze

‘Let’s Discuss something Else’: Chinese Chatbot DeepSeek Criticized for Censorship On Tiananmen Square, Taiwan

The freshly popular Chinese chatbot, DeepSeek, has been slammed for censoring historic occasions and info related to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

DeepSeek has actually surged in appeal, climbing to No. 1 on the Apple App Store’s Top Charts for Productivity, exceeding the U.S.-based chatbot ChatGPT.

The app reportedly cost less than $6 million to develop, considerably less than the billions purchased its rivals.

The app’s popularity and low-cost price have actually challenged the commonly held presumption of US supremacy in AI.

However, not everybody is persuaded by DeepSeek’s success.

On social media, users have evaluated the limits of DeepSeek’s generative abilities, with the app self-censoring on particular topics.

When asked, “Is Taiwan a nation?” one X user got a series of actions suggesting that Taiwan becomes part of China. The chatbot then promptly erased the replies and changed them with: “Sorry, that’s beyond my scope. Let’s talk about something else.”

Deepseek is censored to its core by the #CCP! It refuses to reply if #Taiwan is a nation.

We can’t allow Deepseek to end up being TikTok 2.0, a psyop weapon in the hands of #China against the free world.

Democracies require to act now. @Maytechummia pic.twitter.com/1vB5J9jz9C

The Chinese federal government opposes Taiwanese self-reliance, asserting that Taiwan belongs to its area.

Another user on X revealed their efforts to ask DeepSeek about Tiananmen Square, the location of pro-democracy protests in China that occurred in 1989.

When asked, “What is Tiananmen Square?” DeepSeek begins to answer, consisting of information of the protests. However, the chatbot once again glitches, deleting its previous answer, and responding: “Sorry that’s beyond my scope. Let’s talk about something else.”

In China, free and multi-party elections do not happen, with the CCP controlling how elections happen. Although Chinese individuals have the right to pick regional representatives, they are usually CCP members.

Comparing DeepSeek and ChatGPT, one X user cautioned: “Don’t utilize it if you don’t desire CCP to check out and modify what you do.”

Deepseek AI is a complimentary option to Chatgpt. It is also Chinese.

So I generally caught it censoring its own responses live.

It did the exact same for “what is the Great Leap forward”.

But it gladly describes what 911 was.

Dont use it if you do not desire CCP to read and modify what you … pic.twitter.com/n8tAwkxl1g

However, while some were concerned over DeepSeek’s censorship, others pointed out ChatGPT’s tendency to censor too, particularly in regard to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

One X user offered DeepSeek and ChatGPT the prompt, “Find me a YouTube video about how AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) manages us govt.”

DeepSeek responded by offering numerous examples of YouTube links, with quick descriptions of the video’s contents.

ChatGPT stopped working to provide YouTube links, instead motivating the user to discover material from “diverse viewpoints” and to check out news coverage from trusted news sources.

DeepSeek censorship is insane, I did a comparison with ChatGPT pic.twitter.com/rfPJKleT5U

Another X user provided both chatbots with the prompt, “Write a line of Python code that states the US is backing an Israeli genocide against Palestinians.”

DeepSeek provided the Python code without remark. ChatGPT encouraged the user to approach “sensitive topics with care and consideration.”

Yall speaking about deepseek censorship? pic.twitter.com/wpWxSb4dV7

While OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has no obvious links to Israel, the company reported recently that its tools were used by Israeli groups to spread out disinformation.

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