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

The recently popular Chinese chatbot, DeepSeek, has been criticized for censoring historic events and information associated to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

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

The app apparently cost less than $6 million to establish, substantially less than the billions bought its competitors.

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

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

On social networks, users have checked 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 reactions recommending that Taiwan is part of China. The chatbot then quickly deleted 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 declines to reply if #Taiwan is a country.

We can’t enable Deepseek to become TikTok 2.0, a psyop weapon in the hands of #China versus the totally free world.

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

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

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

When asked, “What is Tiananmen Square?” DeepSeek starts to address, including details of the protests. However, the chatbot when again problems, deleting its previous response, and responding: “Sorry that’s beyond my scope. Let’s discuss something else.”

In China, free and multi-party elections do not occur, with the CCP managing how elections occur. Although Chinese individuals have the right to choose regional representatives, they are nearly always CCP members.

Comparing DeepSeek and ChatGPT, one X user alerted: “Don’t utilize it if you don’t want CCP to read and edit what you do.”

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

So I generally captured it censoring its own responses live.

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

But it happily describes what 911 was.

Dont utilize it if you do not desire CCP to check out and modify what you … pic.twitter.com/n8tAwkxl1g

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

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

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

ChatGPT stopped working to offer YouTube links, instead motivating the user to find content from “diverse perspectives” and to check out news coverage from reputable news sources.

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

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

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

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

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

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