Odd Lots

The Surprising Similarity Between the US and Chinese Internets

February 3, 2026

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  • Despite vastly different governance regimes, the evolution of the US and Chinese internets has converged toward centralization, tribalism, and conflict, defying early utopian predictions of liberalization. 
  • Chinese internet censorship thrives on intentional vagueness, forcing users and platforms into a dynamic 'dance' of self-censorship and creative circumvention, exemplified by coded language like the 'grass mud horse.' 
  • The most significant cleavage in both the US and Chinese internet spheres is the growing divide between those building and controlling new technologies (like AI) and the general population who feel like disempowered 'non-player characters.' 

Segments

Internet Utopianism vs. Reality
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(00:01:31)
  • Key Takeaway: The initial 1990s hope that the internet would be a liberalizing force, even in China, has failed to materialize, leading instead to centralization and conflict.
  • Summary: The mid-90s internet culture was viewed as decentralized and innocent, fostering a belief that authoritarian governments could not control it. Currently, the internet is characterized by intense tribalism, conflict, and control by a handful of tech oligarchs. This deviation from the utopian premise is a major contemporary story, further complicated by geographical splintering and national sovereignty concerns.
Guest Introduction and ‘Wall Dancers’
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(00:05:51)
  • Key Takeaway: The term ‘Wall Dancers’ describes individuals navigating the Chinese internet’s dynamic push and pull between state constraint and innovation, capturing the complexity beyond simple censorship narratives.
  • Summary: The book title, ‘The Wall Dancers,’ originates from the Chinese phrase ‘dancing in shackles,’ used by journalists describing writing under state constraints. This concept resonated with various professionals, symbolizing the necessary dance between state and society in China. The author chose to focus on individual lives to reveal the Chinese internet’s complexity, moving beyond binary tropes of boundless opportunity versus oppressive techno-authoritarianism.
Nuances of Chinese Censorship
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(00:10:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Chinese censorship thrives on vagueness, evolving from blocking political dissent (like the ’three T’s’) to enforcing ideological conformity, including scrubbing ‘unhealthy marital values’ and excessive displays of wealth.
  • Summary: The effectiveness of Chinese censorship relies on the lack of clear red lines, which changes over time; initially focusing on dissent and collective action, it now encompasses ideological purity. Criticism of local officials is viewed with great caution and often removed via directives from higher regulators like the Cyberspace Administration (CAC). This system encourages proactive self-censorship among platform employees and users alike.
Labor and Nationalism in Censorship
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(00:14:18)
  • Key Takeaway: Censorship remains highly labor-intensive, involving armies of paid and unpaid nationalist actors (‘Wumao’ or hobbyist nationalists) alongside platform employees who delete content, with platform keyword databases being valuable proprietary assets.
  • Summary: The censorship process requires massive human labor, evidenced by Weibo’s censor count growing from 150 in 2011 to an estimated 10,000 by 2020. This effort includes state-paid actors and ‘hobbyist nationalists’ engaging in ‘flooding’ to bury unwanted news, mirroring tactics seen in US online extremism. The vagueness of directives leads to an ‘Umbridge effect,’ where actors aggressively over-interpret rules, making self-censorship pervasive.
Language Creativity and Code Words
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(00:23:06)
  • Key Takeaway: Chinese internet users creatively bypass censors using homonyms and puns, such as ‘grass mud horse’ (a homophone for an obscenity), though this constant code-switching makes communication increasingly obscure, even for experts.
  • Summary: The structure of the Chinese language, with characters having multiple meanings and homonyms, fuels creative circumvention tactics. The ‘grass mud horse’ became an ironic rallying cry due to its phonetic similarity to a curse. Keeping up with these evolving code words is difficult, requiring consultation of resources like China Digital Times to decipher meaning.
US vs. Chinese Content Parallels
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(00:26:59)
  • Key Takeaway: The stereotype that the Chinese internet is purely educational while the US internet is ‘slop’ is overstated; the Chinese internet is also full of low-quality content, though it is more sanitized due to the state’s emphasis on ‘positive energy.’
  • Summary: The perceived difference in content quality often reflects American conservative anxiety projected onto the Chinese platform. While Chinese platforms like Douyin are more sanitized, removing content deemed ideologically unhealthy, they still contain significant amounts of low-value content. Unlike video games, the internet itself is too vital for daily life (communication, commerce) to face broad crackdowns on usage time.
Nationalism and Political Trajectory
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(00:35:15)
  • Key Takeaway: The rise of strong nationalism on the Chinese internet, exemplified by ’little pinks’ fusing online fandom tactics with patriotism, preceded Xi Jinping’s consolidation of power and was partly fueled by reactions to the 2008 global events.
  • Summary: Nationalist sentiment was fringe before the internet but gained traction, especially around the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the financial crisis, when Western criticism and US instability reinforced the need for strong state control. The emergence of ’little pinks’ (Xiaofenhong) around 2016 fused online fan culture tactics with patriotic goals, effectively weaponizing fandom mobilization against perceived foreign or domestic critics.
AI Governance and Final Convergence Thesis
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(00:41:14)
  • Key Takeaway: China’s centralized governance mechanism, including a public algorithm registry for AI tools, offers a structured approach to managing new technology that contrasts with the US reliance on decentralized, platform-owner whims.
  • Summary: Generative AI is expected to make censorship significantly easier, building upon existing automated flagging systems. China mandates that companies submit their AI algorithms to a public registry, a governance mechanism absent in the US where platform control often rests on the unpredictable whims of individuals like Elon Musk. The ultimate similarity between the two internets stems from the centralization of technological power, whether by government or by a few tech oligarchs.