China is using the world's largest known online disinformation operation to harass Americans, a CNN review finds | CNN
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The Chinese government has built up the world’s largest known online disinformation operation and is using it to harass US residents, politicians, and businesses—at times threatening its targets with violence, a CNN review of court documents and public disclosures by social media companies has found.

The Chinese government has built up the world’s largest known online disinformation operation and is using it to harass US residents, politicians, and businesses—at times threatening its targets with violence, a CNN review of court documents and public disclosures by social media companies has found.

The onslaught of attacks – often of a vile and deeply personal nature – is part of a well-organized, increasingly brazen Chinese government intimidation campaign targeting people in the United States, documents show.

The US State Department says the tactics are part of a broader multi-billion-dollar effort to shape the world’s information environment and silence critics of Beijing that has expanded under President Xi Jinping. On Wednesday, President Biden is due to meet Xi at a summit in San Francisco.

Victims face a barrage of tens of thousands of social media posts that call them traitors, dogs, and racist and homophobic slurs. They say it’s all part of an effort to drive them into a state of constant fear and paranoia.

  • @MicroWaveOPEnglish
    32•1 year ago

    From the article:

    Private researchers have tracked the network since its discovery more than four years ago, but only in recent months have federal prosecutors and Facebook’s parent company Meta publicly concluded that the operation has ties to Chinese police.

    Meta announced in August it had taken down a cluster of nearly 8,000 accounts attributed to this group in the second quarter of 2023 alone. Google, which owns YouTube, told CNN it had shut down more than 100,000 associated accounts in recent years, while X, formerly known as Twitter, has blocked hundreds of thousands of China “state-backed” or “state-linked” accounts, according to company blogs.

    • @interceder270
      7•1 year ago

      “Trust us bro.”

      How did they conclude the operation has ties to Chinese police?

      Edit: As usual, crickets.

    • queermunist she/her
      -12•1 year ago

      I don’t trust Meta or Xitter about anything else, why would I trust them on this issue?

      • @[email protected]
        5•1 year ago

        You stike me as the type of person who didn’t read the article and will refuse to read any follow up articles explaining the research.

        • queermunist she/her
          -18•1 year ago

          I’m willing to believe this is coordinated, but again, no proof that this is some kind of paid government opp. In fact, it sounds almost indistinguishable from how 4chan used to operate (before it was invaded by boomers).