As U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced her visit to Taiwan in August, describing it as an unwavering American commitment to the Chinese-claimed self-ruled island, China denounced the visit as a threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Misinformation surfaced amid China's warnings, and disinformation campaigns were launched to deceive public opinion and spread false narratives about the visit. Despite these tensions, Misbar has responded to numerous claims and debunked several photos and videos.
A Network of 72 News Websites Accused of Propaganda
According to a study published on Thursday, August 4, 2022, a Chinese marketing firm that hosted at least 72 fake news websites in 11 languages was accused of spreading pro-Chinese propaganda and criticizing the U.S. and its allies.
According to Mandiant, the research company, the sites were hosted on Shanghai Haixun Technology, a Chinese marketing company's internet infrastructure.
The websites that expressed support for the reform of the Hong Kong electoral system focused on criticizing the U.S. and tried to discredit critics of the Chinese government and concerns related to China limiting democracy in Hong Kong and putting ethnic minority Uyghur citizens into detention camps.
Shanghai Haixun website said it offers clients the opportunity to get their talking points published in more than 40 languages that could cover more than 140 countries. The company also confirms its ability to launch more than 40,000 news media institutions.
“It’s unclear who would have organized the campaign, and neither a spokesperson for China's embassy in Washington nor Shanghai Haixun Technology responded to requests for comment,” CNBC wrote.
Dakota Cary, a researcher involved in the study, said the network is among a growing list of failed Chinese disinformation campaigns. This network appeared to be a clumsy attempt by a pro-China group to influence the Western dialogue.
“The campaign observed by Mandiant is another example of how China is unable to influence cultural narratives with inauthentic accounts and forged documents,” said Cary.
According to Mandiant, numerous sites published articles criticizing U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in response to reports that she may visit Taiwan in August. The content on the network highlighted perceived tarnished relations between the U.S. and Taiwan and asserted that Pelosi should stay away from Taiwan.
350 Fake Social Media Profiles Created Using AI
According to a similar study conducted by the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), an independent and non-profit social enterprise dedicated to identifying and exposing influence operations, a ring of more than 350 fake social media profiles promotes pro-China narratives and discredits its opponents.
The study suggested that the network aims to delegitimize the U.S. and support China’s influence and image overseas. The report discovered that created fake profiles circulated garish cartoons of exiled Chinese tycoon Guo Wengui, an outspoken critic of China. Meanwhile, other cartoons featured whistleblower Li-Meng Yan and Steve Bannon, a former political strategist for Donald Trump, both accused of spreading disinformation and false narratives about the COVID-19 pandemic.
AI-generated profile pictures were used by accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. There is no evidence that this network is linked to the Chinese government, according to the BBC. However, the CIR confirmed that it appears to be similar to other pro-China networks previously taken down by Facebook and Twitter and that it amplifies pro-China narratives similar to those promoted by Chinese state representatives.
The network promotes the idea that the U.S. has a poor human rights record, according to the report. Others cited the murder of George Floyd and anti-Asian discrimination.
According to the CIR, some accounts also denied human rights abuse in the Xinjiang region after reports said China detained at least a million Muslims against their will. The posts called the allegations “lies fabricated by the U.S. and the West.”
The BBC quoted Benjamin Strick, the author of the CIR report, saying: “The aim of the network appears to be to delegitimize the West by amplifying pro-Chinese narratives.”
The fake profiles' pictures were created using realistic-looking AI-generated images. According to the report, the images were created by a photo-generating software called StyleGAN using machine learning techniques and cannot be identified using Reverse Image Search.
AI-generated images became a frequent and new way to create fake accounts used to spread misinformation. It has been difficult for the limited groups of fact-checkers to identify the fabricated images. As we previously explained in our blog, Artificial Intelligence uses Emotional Analysis techniques in generating content to make it similar to the work of real users and fill in the gaps that distinguish fake content from accurate content.
Misbar’s Sources:
Center for Information Resilience
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