Hi, reddit! I’m
Sigal Samuel, a reporter for Vox’s Future Perfect section, where I write about AI, tech, and how they impact vulnerable communities like people of color and religious minorities. Over the past year, I’ve been reporting on how China is going to outrageous lengths to surveil its own citizens — especially
Uighur Muslims, 1 million of whom are being held in internment camps right now. China claims Uighur Muslims pose a risk of separatism and terrorism, so it’s necessary to “re-educate” them in camps in the northwestern Xinjiang region. As I reported when I was religion editor at The Atlantic, Chinese officials have
likened Islam to a mental illness and described indoctrination in the camps as “a free hospital treatment for the masses with sick thinking.” We know from former inmates that Muslim detainees are forced to memorize Communist Party propaganda, renounce Islam, and consume pork and alcohol. There have also been reports of torture and death. Some “treatment.” I’ve spoken to Uighur Muslims around the world who are
worried sick about their relatives back home —
especially kids, who are often taken away to state-run orphanages when their parents get sent to the camps. The family separation aspect of this story has been the most heartbreaking to me. I’ve also spoken to some of the inspiring
internet sleuths who are using simple tech, like Google Earth and the Wayback Machine, to hunt for evidence of the camps and hold China accountable. And I’ve investigated the urgent question: Knowing that a million human beings are being held in internment camps in 2019,
what is the Trump administration doing to stop it?
UPDATE: Thanks so much for all the great questions, everyone! I have to sign off for now, but keep posting your questions and I'll try to answer more later.
