China is stepping up its manipulation of US public opinion. It worked well for Putin in 2016 so why would Xi Jinping ignore the potential?
A Chinese marketing firm likely organized and promoted protests in Washington last year as part of a wide-ranging pro-Beijing influence campaign, according to new research.
The Chinese firm also used a network of over 70 fake news websites to promote pro-China content in an example of the more aggressive efforts by pro-China operatives to influence US political debate in recent years, according to security firm Mandiant, which analyzed the activity.
One of the protests was against a US government ban on goods produced in China’s Xinjiang region, where US officials have accused the Chinese government of systematic repression of the Uyghurs. The other protest was on the sidelines of a June conference on international religious freedom, Mandiant said.
One of the protests only attracted roughly a dozen people but it showed the scope and ambition of the pro-China efforts.
The hired protesters, who included self-proclaimed musicians and actors in the Washington, DC, area, apparently had no idea they were being enlisted in a pro-China influence campaign, the Mandiant researchers said.
The campaign backed by the Chinese firm, Shanghai Haixun Technology Co., Ltd., is “intended to sow discord in US society,” Ryan Serabian, a senior analyst at Mandiant, told CNN.
Rent-a-protester is nothing new. There are companies like this one which will create a scene for you — for a price.
A bigger problem is the proliferation of bogus news sites. They often have names and branding which look like (but aren't identical) to those of legit news organizations.
It doesn't help matters that Google News is way lax about what it considers a "news" site.
Of course the most fertile ground for fake news sites is social media. Meta (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) is more interested in boosting activity than in accuracy of information. And Twitter (or whatever Elon is calling it today) these days has become a playpen for Nazis.
People need to SIMPLY STOP getting news from dubious social media sources.
There are plenty of respected sources for news. But it takes a bit more effort than just glancing at an unmoderated feed.
No source is 100% perfect; but a good news source will admit an error and then offer a correction.
Public broadcasters in liberal democracies are good sources. Even public broadcasters in some non-English speaking democracies may have English language content. Americans in particular need to get more news directly from reliable sources in other countries. It's a big world out there.
The corporatization and monopolization of local and regional newspapers in the US has been terrible news. However a lot of smaller excellent news sites have sprung up to fill the gap in local coverage in many municipalities.
So create your own news feed of legit sources – but keep it separate from strictly opinion sites.
If you do run across a dubious site pretending to be a news source, don't hesitate to call them out publicly. This "news site" may just be a propaganda boiler room operating in Shanghai or Saint Petersburg. It may seem like a game of whack-a-mole to some degree but keeping the lifespans of such sites short prevents them from building a base.
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Speaking of China, apparently Foreign Minister Qin Gang has been purged.
China’s foreign minister Qin Gang ousted in surprise shake-up of Xi Jinping’s foreign policy leadership
Worth 『ワース 命の値段』 9.11テロの被害者遺族への 補償金問題を描いた映画! 淡々とした展開だけど、 様々な問題、人間関係が 絡みあって。 圧巻の作品! フィクションやファンタジーには無い”現実の凄味” 是非ー! PS. ロングライドさん、 良い作品買い付けて らっしゃいますねー👍 The film deals with the issue of compensation for victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Although it is a modest development, Various problems and relationships are intertwined. It's spectacular! "The Amazing Reality" Not Found in Fiction or Fantasy It's spectacular! #マイケルキートン #michaelkeaton #ワース命の値段 #worth #tohoシネマズシャンテ #有限会社ロングライド https://www.instagram.com/p/CqfTR2KpO6Y/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
Xie Zhiyao soon fell asleep, but Gu Chaocheng didn’t leave immediately. He sat at the head of the bed and watched him sleeping quietly for a long time. Xie Zhiyao didn’t sleep properly, lying on his back with his legs wide apart.
According to reason, Gu Chaocheng would frown when he saw such a sleeping position, but he didn’t. His first reaction was that; in the future, they would sleep in the same bed. Would he be squeezed out of bed by Xie Zhiyao?
2 excellent tunes from the new compilation from (mostly) electronica label 派樂黛唱片有限公司 Dark Paradise Records. =D
《派樂黛 G8 二元對立》Dark Paradise Records G8 Binary Opposition (Executive Producer: 黃少雍 Shao-Yong Huang)
The song above is indie rock, with some tasteful background synths. Fun groove, good vocals, you can’t ask for anything more! The MV has the actress Inna cooking & eating fried rice. =D
Ń7ä (aka Wenna Tsao) featuring 逃走鮑伯 Bob Is Tired (吳思岑 Sicen Wu aka Bob-Voc/Gtr, (also in SADOG) 陳培睿 Peiray Chen aka Sam-Bass, 羅子翔 Sean Lo-Drums)
Vocals/Lyrics/Gtr: 吳思岑 Sicen Wu
Composer: 吳思岑 Sicen Wu, Ń7ä
Producer/Synths: Ń7ä
Arrangement: Ń7ä, 逃走鮑伯 BOB IS TIRED
Bass: 陳培睿 Peiray Chen
Drums: 羅子翔 Sean Lo
Bob links: Spotify, StreetVoice, Instagram, YouTube, Bandcamp
Next tune is from 盧律銘 Lu Luming featuring Yokkorio with a sweet, sci-fi MV by 小油画 / Little Oil Art:
youtube
Vocalist: 廖柚文 Yuwen Liao (Yokkorio), 盧律銘 Luming Lu
Music/Lyrics/Arrangement/Producer/Synths: 盧律銘 Luming Lu
Electric Guitar: 林庭鈺 (Tim TingYu Lin) (in the band YELLOW)
Drums: 江尚謙 Shang-chien Chiang (from 佛跳牆 Buddha Jump)
Luming plays gtr w/ 聲子蟲 Bugs of phonon and programming w/ 棋盤上的空格 Empty Space On a Chessboard. LL Links: Luming Lu Instagram, Spotify, YouTube Topic, YouTube Topic
Yokkorio aka 廖柚文 Yuwen Liao aka Yoz (柚子) aka Sava Liao used to be in The Fur. She has 2 solo singles, both from 2022. Links: Official Site, YouTube, Bandcamp, Spotify, SoundCloud, Twitter, Instagram, Yokkorio YouTube, Yokkorio Spotify, YOZ Instagram, Yokkorio StreetVoice