An evening with Dr. Gary M. King '80, '10 HON

Distinguished Speaker Series

Distinguished Speaker Series

"Reverse Engineering" Chinese Government Information Controls

Tuesday, October 15, 2024 | 7 p.m.

SUNY New Paltz, Lecture Center

Refreshments and meet and greet to follow the program. 

In his talk, Gary King will discuss Chinese information controls, such as its wide scale censorship, the most extensive efforts to selectively control human expression in the history of the world. He'll explain how this massive effort to slow the flow of information paradoxically also conveys a great deal about the intentions, goals, and actions of the leaders. Learn how he and his students accomplished this by downloading all Chinese social media posts before the government could read and censor them; creating a social media company in China to learn more; and discovering that the Chinese government fabricates and posts 450 million social media comments a year in the names of ordinary people.  He will report on his team's surprising finding that the government does not censor criticism of the government or its leaders, but instead responds on an emergency basis to stop protest and other collective action, even if in support of the government (with censorship, fabricating posts with giant bursts of cheerleading-type distractions and responding to citizen grievances, etc.). They show that the government leaders don't care what you think of them, only what you can do, and if you have the ability to motivate others to take action, they will stop you.

 

 

SPEAKER BIO

Hear what our attendees have to say about the SUNY New Paltz Distinguished Speaker Series:

 

 

General admission is complimentary. A $10.00 donation is suggested to the SUNY New Paltz Foundation to support educational opportunities for our students. SUNY New Paltz Students are FREE

 

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If you have special accessibility questions or require accommodations to fully participate in this event, please contact sandickl@newpaltz.edu as soon as possible to make appropriate accommodations.

 

Now in its sixteenth successful year, our Distinguished Speaker Series features high-profile individuals from literature, public affairs, and popular culture, with each presentation attracting the campus community and the wider public, generating media coverage, and providing memorable experiences for our students. SUNY New Paltz received a generous gift from a private donor to initially underwrite a portion of this signature campus program.

 

Opportunities are available to recognize you or your business before and throughout the event. For information, contact sandickl@newpaltz.edu.