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China is using the world's largest known online disinformation operation to harass Americans, a CNN review finds (www.cnn.com)

submitted 2 years ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

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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 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.

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[-] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 17 points 2 years ago

IDK, I think there are a lot of pretentious idiots who refuse to engage in good faith discussions without any direct ties to any foreign governments. People adamantly hold on to all kinds of stupid opinions and argue fervently for them.

So it's hard to tell who the foreign operatives are if regular people are willing to spread disinformation without any kind of compensation.

[-] lolcatnip@reddthat.com 4 points 2 years ago

True, but the people funding disinformation operations believe they're making a difference, and anti-disinformation operations like Bellingcat agree with them.

I think a better way to view is that malicious actors have managed to weaponize the "pretentious idiots" you referred to, making them an integral part of their propaganda strategy. They're useful idiots working for foreign governments without even knowing it, and the way they're manipulated and amplifying deliberate propaganda makes them far more influential than they would be if they were just spewing their own personal idiocy.

[-] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 years ago

That's fair. My point is that the person you're talking to is unlikely to be a foreign operative, so calling them on their BS (if you do it well) could have enough of a ripple effect to get others to ignore them.

It's a huge pain, and it's not something anyone will ever win, but I think it's important. It's a lot easier to neutralize an idiot than a professional.

[-] Cannacheques@slrpnk.net 2 points 2 years ago

I prefer to add a dose of spicey humour or sweet idiocy to my conspiracies to keep the real spies off my tail

this post was submitted on 14 Nov 2023

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