Popping the hood on Chinese balloons: Examining the discourse between U.S. and China-geotagged accounts

In this study, we examined online conversations on Twitter about a Chinese balloon spotted over U.S. airspace in January 2023. We investigated the conversations between U.S.-based, China-based and accounts from the rest of the world. We also studied the difference between bots and human accounts within these conversations. We found that U.S.-based accounts referred to the balloon as a surveillance balloon, China-based accounts focused on the shooting and removal of the balloon, while the rest of the world engaged in general discourse. There were also some differences in the focus of topics between bots and human accounts within each region.