The Chinese government spends billions of dollars a year on a global disinformation campaign that uses overseas investments and a range of tactics to promote Beijing's geopolitical goals and silence criticism of its policies, according to a new US State Department assessment.
Beijing's efforts are wide-ranging, according to the review, including the establishment of online bots and water armies, legal action against critics of Chinese companies and investments, and content-sharing agreements with media organisations in Latin America and Africa.
Other tactics include publishing English-language articles written by fake authors in influential local media and applying diplomatic pressure on foreign universities and newspapers that publish content deemed offensive.
"The Chinese government has invested billions of dollars to build an information ecosystem in which Chinese propaganda and disinformation gain traction and dominate," said the report released Thursday by the State Department's Global Engagement Center. The center was established in 2016 to combat propaganda and disinformation abroad. Many of these efforts are aimed at developing countries, the report said, adding that not challenging China's propaganda campaigns could succeed in reshaping the global information landscape, leading other governments to make decisions more in line with Beijing's.
China has widely denied conducting online or real-world influence campaigns or disinformation campaigns against the United States or other countries. A representative of the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.