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

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

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

The app supposedly cost less than $6 million to establish, substantially less than the billions invested in its competitors.

The app’s appeal and cheap price have challenged the extensively held assumption of US supremacy in AI.

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

On social networks, users have tested the limits of DeepSeek’s generative capabilities, with the app self-censoring on specific subjects.

When asked, “Is Taiwan a nation?” one X user got a series of actions recommending that Taiwan is part of China. The chatbot then quickly deleted the replies and replaced 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 country.

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

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

The Chinese federal government opposes Taiwanese independence, asserting that Taiwan is part of its area.

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

When asked, “What is Tiananmen Square?” DeepSeek starts to respond to, including details of the protests. However, the chatbot when again problems, erasing its previous answer, and replying: “Sorry that’s beyond my scope. Let’s speak about something else.”

In China, free and multi-party elections do not take place, with the CCP controlling how elections happen. Although Chinese people can select local agents, they are generally CCP members.

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

Deepseek AI is a free alternative to Chatgpt. It is likewise Chinese.

So I basically captured it censoring its own responses live.

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

But it gladly describes what 911 was.

Dont use it if you don’t want CCP to check out and modify what you … pic.twitter.com/n8tAwkxl1g

However, while some were concerned over DeepSeek’s censorship, others explained ChatGPT’s propensity to censor as well, particularly in regard to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

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

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

ChatGPT failed to supply YouTube links, rather motivating the user to find material from “varied point of views” and to read news coverage from reputable news sources.

DeepSeek censorship is crazy, I did a contrast with ChatGPT pic.twitter.com/rfPJKleT5U

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

the Python code without remark. ChatGPT motivated the user to approach “delicate subjects with care and consideration.”

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

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

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