The political tensions between United States e Chineseas it is easy to imagine, are also appearing online.
In this sense, as reported by Reutersthe CIA he had long ago activated a secret operation to influence Chinese public opinion. The plan, launched during 2019would be aimed at causing paranoia and tension in the context of governo di Xi Jinping.
Simply put, CIA agents would create in series fake accounts on social networks, spreading rumors about members of the Chinese Communist Party having mysterious riches hidden outside national borders. The same accounts would have criticized the Chinese government, speaking of corruption and other issues aimed at discrediting the country’s politicians in the eyes of citizens.
As expected, the CIA refused to comment on Reuters’ claims and, in fact, it is not possible to verify the existence of the plan and whether it is still in progress.
Fake social media accounts? The potential CIA operation is just the latest in a long series
Propaganda fueled via social media is certainly nothing new and is not a phenomenon particularly linked to one country. Similar cases, for example, have been recorded with respect to Russia with attacks aimed specifically at the USA and beyond.
The United States itself, as reported by Reuters, has implemented similar strategies in other Southeast Asian countries to influence public opinion. This issue could, at least in part, fall within this complex context TikTokwith the American government ready to ban the platform on its territory.
Meanwhile, a few days ago a Google engineer was accused of selling AI-related secrets to Chinese companies. Certainly, the relations between the two world powers are not idyllic: the hope is that the back and forth will always be limited to the context of the Web.