In what can be called a widespread influence campaign linked to a Beijing public relations firm, more than 100 websites disguised as local news outlets in Europe, Asia and Latin America were found pushing pro-China content.
The propaganda content, which is spread over websites in 30 countries, is mixed with news collected from local news outlets and Chinese state media, as per reports.
The content highlights conspiracy theories, mostly about the United States or its allies. One piece blames American scientists for leaking ‘Covid-19’.
As per Citizen Lab, the campaign began in mid-2020 and on tracing, it led to public relations firm Shenzhen Haimaiyunxiang Media Co., Ltd., also known as Haimai.
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Citizen Lab found most of the content across the sites was sourced from a press releases service called ‘Times Newswire’. In 2023, analysts at cybersecurity firm Mandiant found it to be at the centre of a separate Chinese influence operation which targeted US audiences.
As per experts quoted in a media report, China is one of the biggest sources of such campaigns alongside Russia and Iran. Online influence campaigns are becoming increasingly common among powerful people and governments around the world seeking to manipulate public opinion. Social media company Meta (formerly known as Facebook) in a report in November 2023 highlighted that Chinese influential operations, which expanded beyond Asia, is the most notable change in the threat landscape.
Citizen Lab further found that a series of such websites were noticed in South Korea and Italy. South Korea’s National Cyber Security Center (NCSC), a national intelligence agency, exposed 18 sites in November 2023. The operations were linked to Haimai.
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