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US military faces criticism for anti-vax propaganda campaign

2024-07-29 14:11:37.006000

China's Sinovac has hit back at a reported US military campaign to discredit China's Covid-19 vaccine. Sinovac called the Pentagon's campaign a 'wrong attack that will create enormous disaster.' A Reuters investigation revealed that in the summer of 2020, 300 Twitter accounts were created to criticize the quality of Chinese face masks, test kits, and the Sinovac vaccine. The Pentagon's campaign began in spring 2020 and expanded beyond Southeast Asia before ending in mid-2021. The US program started under former President Donald Trump and continued into President Joe Biden's administration. The White House ordered the ban of the anti-vax effort in spring 2021, and the Pentagon initiated an internal review [1d0bd1be].

According to a report by Modern Diplomacy, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the US military launched a secret campaign to discredit China's Sinovac vaccine and counter its growing influence in the Philippines. The operation involved fake internet accounts impersonating Filipinos and spreading anti-vax propaganda. The campaign started in 2019 under Trump's defense secretary Mark Esper and continued into Biden's presidency. It aimed to sow doubt about the safety and efficacy of vaccines supplied by China. The campaign expanded from the Philippines to Central Asia and the Middle East, targeting Muslim-majority countries. The US military's use of social media tools to influence overseas audiences began around 2010. The campaign undermined the supply of life-saving vaccines in developing countries. The Pentagon criticized its primary contractor General Dynamics IT for getting caught but awarded them a $493 million contract to continue providing clandestine influence services. The campaign contributed to the Philippines having one of the worst inoculation rates in Southeast Asia and a high death rate [08e63e42] [1d0bd1be].

The US Defence Department did not deny a report accusing the Pentagon of orchestrating a secret campaign meant to discredit Chinese Covid-19 vaccines. Chinese officials had suggested investigating Fort Detrick, a US Army facility, as a potential source of the coronavirus. The Pentagon conducts operations in the information environment to counter adversary malign influence. The Defence Department uses social media platforms to counter malign influence attacks and disinformation campaigns. The campaign is seen as an attempt to counter Beijing's influence and disinformation efforts. The US and China remain far from cooperation on efforts to end the pandemic. The National Defence Strategy released by James Mattis in 2018 and Lloyd Austin in 2022 both mention China's influence operations and disinformation activities [3547665d].

China's embassy in the Philippines accused the US military of launching a clandestine program during the COVID-19 pandemic to discredit China's Sinovac vaccine. The US military aimed to sow doubt about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine through phony Internet accounts impersonating Filipinos. The Chinese embassy spokesperson criticized the US for hypocrisy and double standards, accusing it of disregarding the fundamental human rights of the Filipino people. The US Embassy referred a request for comment to its Department of Defense. The investigation found that the US military engaged in secret propaganda to disparage China's vaccine in the developing world [784b4d69].

The US military engaged in a secret propaganda campaign to undermine China's Covid-19 vaccines in countries like the Philippines. The campaign involved creating fake social media accounts impersonating Filipinos and spreading anti-vaccine messaging. The operation undermined trust and exploited the vulnerabilities of populations desperate for vaccines. The disinformation campaign likely exacerbated vaccine hesitancy in the Philippines. US diplomats had warned that the campaign could damage America's relationship with the Philippines, but military brass overrode those objections. The backlash in the Philippines has been severe, with calls for investigations and accountability. The campaign risks long-term damage to America's credibility and moral standing in Southeast Asia. It also deepens concerns that Southeast Asian nations are becoming pawns in a new cold war. The US government must provide a full accounting of the programme, repair the damage, and commit to higher standards. Southeast Asian nations need to confront the challenge of disinformation and strengthen resilience. Building regional frameworks, investing in digital literacy programmes, and strengthening independent media ecosystems are critical. The battle for the integrity of the information space in Southeast Asia will shape its political future and the health of its communities. [301103b2]

A shadow campaign targeting Qatar has been launched, using disinformation and propaganda to tarnish the country's reputation. The campaign, which began late last year and spans multiple countries, is the largest ever to target Qatar. It involves shady websites, billboards, and social media ads that spread Islamophobic and anti-immigrant tropes. The goal of the campaign is to make any institutional relationship with Qatar radioactive and advance an anti-Qatar agenda. The campaigns appear to be well-resourced and are designed to rile up sentiment against Qatar in the United States, Britain, and the European Union. The ultimate perpetrators behind the campaign remain unknown, but researchers have identified various characters involved, including a Vietnamese hacker-for-hire, an influential educator, and a faith leader in the United States. The campaigns have been active on multiple platforms, including Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and Telegram. Despite efforts to remove the campaign, the ads still reached a minimum of 41 million people and cost up to $270,000. The source of the campaign is believed to be a Vietnamese marketing outfit, although it is considered a proxy and not the actual brain behind the operation. [180dc460]

The US military is facing criticism for its anti-vax propaganda campaign targeting China's Sinovac vaccine. A report by the South China Morning Post reveals that the US Department of Defense conducted a disinformation campaign on social media to discredit the Chinese-made vaccine. The campaign, which began in 2020 and continued into 2021, targeted audiences in the Philippines, Central Asia, and the Middle East. It aimed to sow doubt about the safety and efficacy of the Sinovac vaccine, spreading claims that it contained pork gelatin and was unsafe or ineffective. The Pentagon has acknowledged 'missteps' in its Covid-related messaging but has not issued an apology for the campaign. The operation undermined the supply of vaccines in developing countries and contributed to low inoculation rates in the Philippines. The US military has a history of exploiting vaccines for intelligence or military operations, such as the fake hepatitis B vaccination program used by the CIA to collect intelligence leading to the assassination of Osama bin Laden in 2011. Such operations undermine public health and the safety of health professionals. The US should reflect on its own malign influence operations and the impact they have on global public health [630394ef].

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