The Islamic Republic of Iran, which is Hamas’s state sponsor, has been spreading propaganda through the Chinese version of TikTok, Douyin. Chinese state media outlets also share Hamas’ propaganda on Douyin as well, in order to promote a pro-Hamas and pro-Iran narrative.
The Islamic Republic’s Embassy has backed Hamas’ attack on Israel and blamed the United States for tensions in the Middle East, and have vowed to support Hamas’ efforts through its proxies in Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq.
“The Iranian Embassy in China released a video: What is hell on earth? Hell looks like Gaza after Israeli bombing,” said Chinese-state-run media outlet Guancha in a post.
The Foreign Desk writes that the Chinese Foreign Ministry has deliberately avoided mentioning Hamas while maintaining a distance from Israel. Chinese officials have tried to position Beijing as a peace broker in the Middle East conflict but has not condemned Hamas and its terrorist actions.
Iran’s Embassy said on Twitter that its followers on Douyin crossed the one million milestone. Tehran’s China mission now has over 1.3 million followers on Douyin.
Since the Hamas attack on October 7th began, the Iranian Embassy’s videos on Douyin have generated hundreds of thousands of views. A video message and visuals of the bombing of al-Ahli Hosptial in Gaza by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad was posted last week, and the Embassy of Iran stated that Israel “must be internationally designated as a terrorist.”
