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Then in May, it was reported that Jack Ma had actually visited Alibaba headquarters for an employee social event. I took this at face value and asked my wife (

Then in May, it was reported that Jack Ma had actually visited Alibaba headquarters for an employee social event. I took this at face value and asked my wife (Chinese) what her opinions were on Ma having not been seen in public for so long. Within a couple of minutes she brought up some Chinese social media posts: video: https://open.163.com/newview/movie/free?pid=TG921CJDP&mid=TG921CJEF https://open.163.com/newview/movie/free?pid=TG921CJDP&mid=TG... that do indeed show Ma giving a speech. Is this a case of the linked article's author not being aware of Chinese social media?

bellyfullofbac 5y ago
I do think the author's argument "There are one billion smartphones in China today" pretty weak. How many smartphone users publish their photos on open social media? Most people probably took pictures and shared them on WeChat with their friends and relatives.
native_samples 5y ago
Is there anywhere in that video or web page that has a date?
- eric-hu 5y ago
  The video has overlay text saying it's May 10th, which seems to be a reference to this event: https://www.reuters.com/technology/jack-ma-makes-rare-visit-alibaba-headquarters-hangzhou-2021-05-10/ https://www.reuters.com/technology/jack-ma-makes-rare-visit-... The project screen behind him in the video looks like it says Aliday 2021 at the top, and the 20 second video clip has subtitles that seem to match what he's saying. The content of what he's saying seems generic, something like "Ali needs to have a singular vision." I _guess_ it could be real. I wouldn't be surprised if it were a deepfake.
  - native_samples 5y ago
    Thanks. I can't read Chinese, is it the 5<something>10<something> at the start? That would make sense. I very much doubt it's DeepFaked. Why bother? If the CCP were holding Ma and wanted him to make a generic video like that for putting up appearances I'm sure they have ways to make him do that. I suspect the OP is correct and it's simply that the author of the article doesn't know how to search Chinese social media.

bellyfullofbac 5y ago

I do think the author's argument "There are one billion smartphones in China today" pretty weak. How many smartphone users publish their photos on open social media? Most people probably took pictures and shared them on WeChat with their friends and relatives.

native_samples 5y ago

Is there anywhere in that video or web page that has a date?

eric-hu 5y ago
The video has overlay text saying it's May 10th, which seems to be a reference to this event: https://www.reuters.com/technology/jack-ma-makes-rare-visit-alibaba-headquarters-hangzhou-2021-05-10/ https://www.reuters.com/technology/jack-ma-makes-rare-visit-... The project screen behind him in the video looks like it says Aliday 2021 at the top, and the 20 second video clip has subtitles that seem to match what he's saying. The content of what he's saying seems generic, something like "Ali needs to have a singular vision." I _guess_ it could be real. I wouldn't be surprised if it were a deepfake.
- native_samples 5y ago
  Thanks. I can't read Chinese, is it the 5<something>10<something> at the start? That would make sense. I very much doubt it's DeepFaked. Why bother? If the CCP were holding Ma and wanted him to make a generic video like that for putting up appearances I'm sure they have ways to make him do that. I suspect the OP is correct and it's simply that the author of the article doesn't know how to search Chinese social media.