We have been at China Report talking about zero covid for the past few weeks, so I thought we could take a break to talk about the other bomb in the room: social media.
I found myself thinking about what made this platform special as I confess I am deeply addicted to it. It isn't just about talking to celebrities and politicians as if we were in the same room, but also about connecting with strangers because you're both interested in the same random thing
I talked to Jacob Saxton, a 30-year-old logistics analyst in the UK, who is behind a pretty niche social media account. The account pretends to know what happened during the political movement from 1966 to 1976 in China.
The State should deliver free contraceptives to people's homes because many are too embarrassed to go out and buy them. Others offer anecdotes, historical pretexts, or snippets of violence and tragedy.
I am fascinated by the idea of retroactive live-tweeting and the fact that it is being done by someone with no background in Chinese history. The history of the Cultural Revolution was rarely taught in Chinese schools. I feel like I am living through that history when I read Jacob's feed.
That is the magic of the social networking site. There are at least 6,700 other people like me who are the same kind of weird, either looking for echoes of history or just brushing up on their knowledge of China.
In late November, I called Jacob to talk about the personal nature of the project, the future of the account, and the changes that have taken place in six years. lightly edited for length and clarity
What prompted you to open this account?
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