Fake news, nonexistent journalists part of Beijing’s information manipulation scheme

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

When United States diplomat Kurt Campbell traveled to the Solomon Islands to counter the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) influence in the South Pacific country, he saw just how far Beijing would go to spread its message.

Campbell, now the U.S. deputy secretary of state, woke up one morning in 2022 to a long article in the local press about the U.S. running chemical and biological labs in Ukraine, a claim that has been debunked as an outright lie. Started by Russia, the false and incendiary claim was amplified vigorously by the CCP vast overseas propaganda apparatus.

It was another example of “clearly effective Russian and Chinese disinformation,” Campbell told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Two years later, the claim reverberates online, demonstrating the CCP’s sprawling effort to reshape global perceptions. The campaign is becoming ever more sophisticated due to artificial intelligence (AI). The CCP’s operations have caught the attention of intelligence analysts and U.S. policymakers. The key tactic: networks of websites purporting to be legitimate news outlets, delivering pro-China coverage that often parallels official statements and positions from Beijing.

Shannon Van Sant, an advisor to the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, tracked dozens of sites that posed as news organizations. One site mimicked The New York Times, using a similar font and design in what she called an attempt at legitimacy. The site carried strong pro-Chinese messages.

When Van Sant researched the site’s reporters, she found no information. Their names didn’t belong to any known journalists working in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and their photos bore telltale signs of being created with AI.

“Manipulation of the media is ultimately a manipulation of readers and the audience, and this is damaging to democracy and society,” Van Sant said.

In addition to its state media, Beijing has turned to foreign players — real or not — to relay messages and lend credibility to narratives favoring the Communist Party, said Xiao Qiang, a research scientist at the School of Information at the University of California, Berkeley. Beijing’s methods are wide-ranging and links to the government are often difficult to prove, Xiao said. But whether it’s journalists with American-sounding names or an Indian influencer, the pro-Beijing messages give them away, Xiao said.

Analysts at the cybersecurity firm Logically identified 1,200 websites that had carried Russian or Chinese state media stories. The sites often target specific audiences and have names that sound like traditional news organizations or defunct newspapers.

Beijing is focused on spreading positive content about the PRC.

While the sites aren’t owned by the Chinese government, they run Chinese content. When Logically looked at content specifically about the U.S. election, 20% could be traced back to Chinese or Russian state media.

Some U.S. officials want to increase spending to even the playing field. The House of Representatives approved a bill in September that would authorize $325 million annually through 2027 to counter the CCP’s global influence, including its disinformation campaigns. The measure still needs Senate approval.

“We are in a global competition for influence with China, and if you want to win it, then you cannot do it on a middle-power budget,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks, a Democrat from New York.

CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping has demanded a buildup of Chinese narratives that would give his country a global voice “commensurate with” its international stature.

Beijing has not shied away from using fake personas. A 2023 State Department report detailed the case of a published writer named Yi Fan, originally described as a Chinese foreign ministry analyst. Yi morphed into a journalist, then became an independent analyst.

Yi’s details changed, but the pro-PRC message did not. Through published commentaries and writings, Yi trumpeted close ties between China and Africa, praised Beijing’s approach to environmental sustainability and argued that China must counter Western narratives.

Then there was Wilson Edwards, a supposed Swiss virologist quoted in Chinese media as a COVID-19 expert who criticized the U.S. response. But Swiss officials found no evidence he existed.

“If you exist, we would like to meet you!” the Swiss Embassy in Beijing wrote on social media.