Source: NAG
The CIA operation, as noted by Reuters launched back in 2019 and was aimed at causing paranoia in Xi Jinping’s government by increasing the amount of negative news related to it.
To do this, CIA agents allegedly created fake social media accounts and spread rumors such as that Communist Party members were hiding their ill-gotten wealth outside the country. The accounts also criticized the Chinese government’s initiatives and claimed that the program for financing infrastructure projects in other countries was corrupt».
The CIA did not comment, so journalists cannot say whether the program is still in operation. It was reportedly initiated by Donald Trump and extended to the regions of Southeast Asia, Africa, and the South Pacific. China’s «Belt and Road» initiative, which provides grants and loans for infrastructure projects, operates in developing countries in these regions and was one of the goals of the CIA program.
State propaganda and the use of bots on social media is nothing new — russia has a bunch of bot farms trying to influence public opinion, both in Ukraine and the United States. Last year, yevgeny prigozhin admitted to creating a group of fake accounts to interfere in the US elections. Also in 2023, Rolling Stone wrote that in China created a fake far-right publication which promoted fake stories to European social media users. Meanwhile, American politicians, seeking to ban TikTok, claim that the Chinese government may use the social media platform to spy on or influence users.