DeepSeek Becomes Subject and Source of Market Misinformation

A rundown of the news making headlines in and around China:

DeepSeek rumors: In a new twist on an old story, DeepSeek has become both the subject of misinformation driving up the prices of Chinese stocks — and its source. By Caixin’s count, a 12th Chinese mainland-listed company came out with a clarification over the past week that it is not working with DeepSeek. False claims about business deals online are nothing new. But recently, false information about companies cooperating with DeepSeek has been getting released online, where it is then absorbed by DeepSeek’s chatbot. The chatbot then parrots it back, which then creates more misleading information that is further spread on the internet. When Caixin asked the chatbot Friday whether certain companies were working with DeepSeek, it received fairly consistent responses that such information needs to be obtained through official announcements, news reports, or directly contacting the relevant company.