DEEPSEEK
DeepSeek’s sudden rise last week may have been boosted at least in part by the Chinese government.
Chinese state-linked accounts promoted DeepSeek’s AI launch last week, highlighting it as a major competitor to U.S. companies.
This happened just days before U.S. tech stocks dropped sharply, according to analysis firm Graphika.
Chinese diplomats, state media, and embassies shared news of DeepSeek’s release on platforms like X, Facebook, Instagram, Weibo, and Toutiao.
The messaging framed China as leading in AI development.
Graphika also linked pro-China content about DeepSeek to past influence campaigns.
YouTube, Meta, and X have not commented on the report.
Market impact and concerns:
After its Jan. 20 release, DeepSeek’s AI assistant quickly became more downloaded than OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
By Monday, U.S. tech stocks fell sharply, wiping $593 billion from Nvidia’s market value—the biggest one-day loss in Wall Street history.
DeepSeek says it built its AI models at a lower cost than U.S. rivals, raising concerns about tough competition.
Wall Street wasn’t ready for this
The U.S. Commerce Department is investigating whether DeepSeek used restricted U.S. chips.
There are also claims that it accessed OpenAI’s technology without permission.
Despite the market hit, Microsoft and Meta say they will keep investing in AI.
Imagine losing half a trillion dollars over an app update.