China Adopts Kremlin's 'Information War' Tactics
Voice of America
China is taking a page out of the Kremlin's playbook and is seeking to highlight America's faults and weaponize the culture wars and identity politics currently buffeting the West, according to disinformation analysts.
Much like the Kremlin and state-owned Russian media, Chinese propagandists are focusing on the problems of racial injustice and income inequality in the U.S. and Western Europe — a move to distract attention from Beijing's own rights abuses, including the internment of more than a million ethnic Muslim Uyghurs, analysts say. "Civil unrest in the United States following police violence against African Americans has been used to counter criticism of police abuse against [pro-democracy] protesters in Hong Kong," according to a recent study by the Atlantic Council, a U.S.-based think tank. "China's disinformation efforts are becoming more sophisticated," added Dexter Roberts, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Asia Security Initiative and author of the report, "China's Disinformation Strategy."Journalists lay down their equipment as they protest the latest draft revision of the broadcasting law, which they consider a threat to press freedom, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on May 27, 2024. Journalists protest the latest draft revision of the broadcasting law, which they consider a threat to press freedom, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on May 27, 2024.
A Ukrainian serviceman carries a U.S. Stinger air defense missile launcher in a trench on the front line in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, May 28, 2024. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, right, sign bilateral agreements at the Sao Bento Palace, the premier's official residence, in Lisbon, May 28, 2024.
In this screen grab, Kenyan President William Ruto speaks in an exclusive interview with VOA Swahili Service reporter Hubbah Abdi in Washington on Friday, May 24, 2024. In this screen grab, Kenyan President William Ruto speaks in an exclusive interview with VOA Swahili Service reporter Hubbah Abdi in Washington on Friday, May 24, 2024.
A demonstrator argues with police officers during an opposition protest of the foreign influence bill at the Parliamentary building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on May 28, 2024. The Georgian parliament overrode a presidential veto of the measure, which has sparked wide protests. Demonstrators gather at the Parliamentary building during a protest against the foreign influence bill in Tbilisi, Georgia, on May 28, 2024. The Georgian parliament overrode a presidential veto of the legislation.
Villagers move a rock as part of search efforts following a devastating landslide, in Yambali village, in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, May 27, 2024. (Juho Valta/UNDP Papua New Guinea via AP) Devastation caused by a landslide is seen in Yambali village, in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, May 27, 2024. (Juho Valta/UNDP Papua New Guinea via AP)