1. Retweeting through the Great Firewall: A persistent and undeterred threat actor
- Author:
- Jake Wallis, Tom Uren, Elise Thomas, Albert Zhang, Samantha Hoffman, Lin Li, Alex Pascoe, and Danielle Cave
- Publication Date:
- 06-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Australian Strategic Policy Institute
- Abstract:
- This report analyses a persistent, large-scale influence campaign linked to Chinese state actors on Twitter and Facebook. This activity largely targeted Chinese-speaking audiences outside of the Chinese mainland (where Twitter is blocked) with the intention of influencing perceptions on key issues, including the Hong Kong protests, exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui and, to a lesser extent Covid-19 and Taiwan. Extrapolating from the takedown dataset, to which we had advanced access, given to us by Twitter, we have identified that this operation continues and has pivoted to try to weaponise the US Government’s response to current domestic protests and create the perception of a moral equivalence with the suppression of protests in Hong Kong.
- Topic:
- Science and Technology, Internet, Social Media, COVID-19, Misinformation, and Twitter
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia