WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump authorized the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to initiate a clandestine campaign on Chinese social media aimed at swaying public opinion against its government, according to former US officials familiar with the classified operation.
Three former officials disclosed that the CIA established a small team of operatives who utilized fake internet personas to disseminate negative narratives about Xi Jinping’s administration, while also leaking disparaging intelligence to overseas news outlets, as reported by US media.
Over the past decade, Beijing has significantly expanded its global presence, solidifying military alliances, trade agreements, and business ventures with developing nations.
The CIA team propagated allegations suggesting that members of the ruling Communist Party were concealing illicit funds abroad and criticized China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as corrupt and wasteful. The BRI provides financial backing for infrastructure projects in developing countries.
Objectives of the Operation Against China
The efforts within China aimed to instill paranoia among top leaders, compelling the government to allocate resources to counter intrusions into its tightly controlled internet, two former officials noted.
A spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced the reports of the CIA initiative, asserting that Washington employs media platforms and public opinion spaces as weapons to disseminate false information and manipulate international public sentiment.
The CIA’s operation was a response to years of covert endeavors by Beijing to expand its global influence, the officials stated.
Throughout his presidency, Donald Trump advocated for a tougher stance against China compared to his predecessors. The CIA’s campaign signaled a return to methods reminiscent of the US’s Cold War-era strategies against the former Soviet Union.
