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The pager and walkie-talkie explosions that occurred in Lebanon on September 17 and 18 resulted in serious casualties and shocked the world. False information quickly circulated over social media among Chinese language users. [...] For Chinese nationalists, the explosions provided an opportunity to justify the concerns about Western products and demonstrate that only Chinese-made electronic equipment can provide consumer safety.
Several themes emerged from the Chinese disinformation pieces:
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The scenes that falsely depicted the explosions
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The incorrect allegation that Taiwan, Israel, Japan, and the United States were part of a conspiracy network
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Concerns that iPhones could also explode
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The claim that wealthy Middle Eastern countries have quickly abandoned Western-made electronic devices in favor of Chinese products, particularly those made by Huawei