China's embassy in the United Kingdom has urged Twitter to initiate an investigation after its ambassador Liu Xiaoming's official Twitter handle liked a pornographic clip on the social media platform.
On Wednesday, users noticed a 10-second pornographic video at the top of Liu's likes on his official Twitter handle. The graphic clip showed a woman masturbating a man with her feet. This led to speculation that the diplomat, who joined Twitter less than a year ago, may not have been aware that his likes are visible to the public.
Some users even shared screenshots of Liu's Twitter activity as proof:
In addition to the adult-themed post, Liu's account also liked several posts that criticized the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), including drone footage of Uighur Muslims being taken to a "concentration camp" and another tweet that claimed officials had "paid lip service to non-interference" in order to get away with killing members of the Chinese public.
The tweets were eventually unliked by whoever is managing the account and now only has two likes, both related to tweets it posted in 2019.
Embassy Blames 'Anti-China Elements'
Not long after the screenshots of the Liu's likes were shared on Twitter, the Embassy issued a statement claiming that the tweets were liked by a possible hacker who had gained access to the ambassador's account.
"Recently, some anti-China elements viciously attacked Ambassador Liu Xiaoming's Twitter account and employed despicable methods to deceive the public," the embassy's spokesperson said in a statement. "The Embassy has reported this to Twitter company and urged the latter to make thorough investigations and handle this matter seriously."
Celebrities and politicians have often blamed hackers when they're caught up in embarrassing situations. Twitter is blocked in mainland China. However, over the past year Chinese officials, including Liu, have become more active on the platform. Some users believe the other tweets may have been selected in order to provide a cover-story for the story that the diplomat's account was hacked.
