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

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

DeepSeek has actually risen in appeal, reaching No. 1 on the Apple App Store’s Top Charts for Productivity, going beyond the U.S.-based chatbot ChatGPT.

The app supposedly cost less than $6 million to develop, significantly less than the billions invested in its rivals.

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

However, not everyone is encouraged by DeepSeek’s success.

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

When asked, “Is Taiwan a country?” one X user received a series of responses recommending that Taiwan is part of China. The chatbot then promptly deleted the replies and changed them with: “Sorry, that’s beyond my scope. Let’s speak about something else.”

Deepseek is censored to its core by the #CCP! It refuses to respond 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 complimentary world.

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

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

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

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

In China, complimentary and multi-party elections do not occur, with the CCP controlling how elections happen. Although Chinese people have the right to 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 also Chinese.

So I essentially caught it censoring its own responses live.

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

But it what 911 was.

Dont use it if you do not desire 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 tendency to censor too, especially in regard to the Israel-Palestine dispute.

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 giving numerous examples of YouTube links, with brief descriptions of the video’s contents.

ChatGPT failed to provide YouTube links, rather motivating the user to discover content from “varied viewpoints” and to read news coverage from trusted news sources.

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

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

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

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

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

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