This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission. China’s Ministry of State Security has warned the country’s social media influencers, particularly military enthusiasts and former state employees with access to confidential information, that they are at risk of breaching national security laws in their bid to attract fans. “With the rise of self-media, a casual video or comment can attract a lot of attention online, and anyone can become an online celebrity,” the ministry said in a post on Tuesday to its official WeChat account. “Knowledge-sharing and outdoor check-in accounts are very popular … but they need to improve their awareness of national security,” the post warned. The growth of amateur military enthusiasts has come amid a rise in popularity for nationalistic commentators who like to brag about China’s military might online, particularly with regard to a potential invasion of democratic Taiwan. “Military fan” content has proliferated behind the Great Firewall of internet censorship in recent years, as it is often produced by “little pink” creators of nationalistic content, which drives large amounts of traffic on Chinese social media. Some like to report on the latest high-tech weaponry and equipment being deployed by the People’s Liberation Army, analyze the strengths of its command regions and theaters, or engage in military plane-spotting, including aircraft identifying marks, according to state media reports. Meanwhile, on YouTube, short videos have also appeared in large numbers on channels like China Defense and Military Tube and CCTV’s China Military, using official state media footage and sometimes an AI voice-over and subtitles in English that appear aimed at an overseas audience. But official warnings are growing that some influencers appear to be going too far, amid a nationwide crackdown on the flow of information under ruling Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping. The latest