Candidates using influencers to bypass ‘shadow ban’ on campaigning by Chinese social media app Rednote

Exclusive: Interviews with influencers who usually post about food or real estate published on platform, which officially discourages political content

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Chinese language influencers who mostly post lifestyle content are interviewing election candidates on the social media app Rednote, allowing politicians to bypass an apparent ‘shadow ban’ on campaigning by the app and reach a disengaged but vital audience.

The interviews with influencers who usually post about food, real estate and shopping have been published on a platform that is not actively monitored by the Australian Electoral Commission due to Rednote’s scale and the commission’s resources.

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