Uighur Times

Uighur Times is a news organisation that publishes content in the Uyghur language and is headquartered in the United States of America. It focuses on delivering news, cultural reporting, and human rights information to Uyghur communities living outside of China, aiming to keep the diaspora informed about developments affecting their homeland and identity. The organisation operates primarily through its website, which serves as the main platform for distributing articles, multimedia, and updates to its readership. By concentrating on Uyghur‑specific topics, it fills a niche that mainstream media outlets often overlook, providing a dedicated voice for a stateless ethnic group.

The organisation’s online presence has made it a target of sophisticated cyber operations linked to Chinese state‑backed actors. In incidents dating from 2013 and 2019, attackers compromised websites associated with Uyghur‑focused media, deployed the Scanbox framework for visitor profiling, used Android exploits to infiltrate mobile devices, and abused Google OAuth to gain unauthorized access to victims’ Gmail accounts and contacts. Doppelganger domains mimicking legitimate services such as Google and Uyghur‑oriented news sites were employed to steal credentials and facilitate further intrusion. These tactics demonstrate that Uighur Times is viewed as a valuable intelligence target due to its role in documenting and disseminating information about the Uyghur population.

Distinguishing attributes of Uighur Times include its specialization in Uyghur‑language journalism and its commitment to covering issues that are often underreported in international press. Its editorial focus on human rights abuses, cultural preservation, and political developments within Xinjiang positions it as a key informant for activists, scholars, and policymakers concerned with the Uyghur situation. The repeated targeting by advanced persistent threat groups underscores the organisation’s perceived influence and the sensitivity of the information it publishes. While specific details about ownership, parent companies, or subsidiary relationships are not disclosed in the available sources, the organisation’s operational base in the United States places it under the jurisdiction of U.S. legal and regulatory frameworks. This combination of linguistic focus, diaspora outreach, and exposure to state‑linked cyber threats defines the unique profile of Uighur Times within the global media landscape.