Editor’s observe: This story has been up to date with further particulars
A latest Reuters report revealed that the U.S. navy was concerned in a covert operation to counter China’s affect within the Philippines in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. The operation concerned the creation of pretend social media accounts to unfold doubt concerning the security of China’s assist, together with vaccines.
What Occurred: Famend whistleblower and privateness advocate Edward Snowden on his social media reacted to the investigation report printed on Friday. The report revealed a clandestine operation initiated by the U.S. navy on the top of the COVID-19 pandemic. The operation was aimed toward countering China’s rising affect within the Philippines, a rustic severely affected by the virus.
“That is going to be taught in historical past courses,” Snowden mentioned.
“They’re stealing a whole lot of thousands and thousands of {dollars} from taxpayers (at a minimal!) to poison the web,” he added.
The key marketing campaign concerned spreading doubt concerning the security and efficacy of vaccines and different life-saving assist provided by China. The navy used pretend web accounts to impersonate Filipinos and launch an anti-vax marketing campaign. The posts criticized the standard of face masks, take a look at kits, and China’s Sinovac vaccine.
The Pentagon is but to answer the queries despatched by Benzinga on the time of publishing.
Reuters recognized at the very least 300 accounts on X, previously Twitter, that matched descriptions shared by former U.S. navy officers aware of the operation. The accounts had been created in the summertime of 2020 and centered on the slogan #Chinaangvirus – Tagalog for ‘China is the virus.’
After the publication approached X concerning the accounts, the social media firm eliminated the profiles, figuring out they had been a part of a coordinated bot marketing campaign.
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The U.S. navy’s anti-vax effort started within the spring of 2020 and continued into Joe Biden‘s presidency, even after social media executives warned the brand new administration concerning the Pentagon’s misinformation marketing campaign. The Biden White Home issued a ban on the anti-vax effort in spring 2021, and the Pentagon initiated an inside evaluation.
«I do not assume it is defensible. I am extraordinarily dismayed, dissatisfied and disillusioned to listen to that the U.S. authorities would do this,» mentioned Daniel Lucey, an infectious illness specialist at Dartmouth’s Geisel Faculty of Medication.
The U.S. navy is prohibited from focusing on Individuals with propaganda, and Reuters discovered no proof that the Pentagon’s affect operation did so.
A senior Protection Division official acknowledged the U.S. navy’s secret propaganda marketing campaign however declined to supply additional particulars. A Pentagon spokeswoman mentioned the U.S. navy makes use of varied platforms, together with social media, to counter malign affect assaults aimed on the U.S., allies, and companions.
Why It Issues: This revelation comes amid ongoing tensions between the U.S. and China over the origins of the COVID-19 virus. In March final yr, China criticized the U.S. for suggesting that the virus might have leaked from a Chinese language lab in Wuhan, accusing the U.S. of politicizing the virus’s origins and damaging its personal credibility.
Earlier this month, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the previous high U.S. infectious illness skilled, testifying earlier than the Home Oversight and Accountability Choose Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, denied allegations of suppressing the lab-leak idea and maintained his perception in animal-to-human transmission because the almost definitely explanation for the pandemic.
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Picture by kovop58 on Shutterstock
This story was generated utilizing Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari
