Photo: from WeChat account of Ministry of State Security

China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) warned on Tuesday that foreign espionage and intelligence agencies, along with actors harboring ulterior motives, are increasingly exploiting online games, anime communities and video platforms popular among young people to spread historical nihilism and subversive narratives, aiming to subtly erode young people's sense of national identity and cultural confidence, posing risks to national political and cultural security.

According to an article released on the WeChat account of the ministry on Tuesday, China has more than 196 million underage internet users, with the age of first internet use trending lower, and potential negative influences and online traps facing young users becoming increasingly apparent. The release warned that unhealthy online content can cause invisible harm to young people's worldview and outlook on life, calling for heightened vigilance and outlining comprehensive measures to safeguard minors online.

The MSS outlined three major types of online traps facing young internet users. Some online content, often presented as "awakening knowledge" or "niche culture," simplifies complex issues, stokes confrontation and offers a false sense of belonging, while instilling ideas such as money worship, historical nihilism and extreme individualism. Prolonged exposure, it noted, can distort young people's values and lead to negativity and serious conflicts with family and society.

Another risk comes from extremist views disguised as "violent aesthetics" or "chivalric heroism," which advocate solving problems through violence and show contempt for law and social norms. The MSS cited a case in which a middle school student became deeply immersed in the virtual world, blindly obeyed online teammates regarded as highly skilled, and, under their influence, attempted to form an "allied force" and planned to imitate game content by bombing a school after reaching adulthood, according to the MSS article.

The ministry also warned that hostile foreign intelligence agencies and other ill-intentioned actors exploit online games, animation communities and video platforms to spread historical nihilism and subversive narratives, eroding national identity and cultural confidence and posing long-term threats to China's political and cultural security.

The MSS article stressed the need for comprehensive, multi-pronged measures to safeguard the mental health and values of young internet users, including coordinated efforts by schools and families to strengthen online literacy and national security education, stronger platform responsibility to enhance content review and remove harmful information, broader public education to expose the dangers of extremist online ideologies, and firm action by state security authorities against content and activities that harm minors' mental health or promote unhealthy values. 

Global Times