$ 180,000 contract between
The China News Service and
OneSight to boost its Twitter
followers at home and
abroad.
$ 480,000 contract between
China’s Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and the winning
bidder Global Times
newspaper.
Source: Authors’ evaluations based on data collected. Blank spaces indicate no evidence was
found.
Other
In contrast to information operations abroad, China employs an extensive censorship regime
domestically. The Chinese government often uses the term “fake news” to delegitimise
criticism of the state. The discourse of ‘fake news’ is used to crack down on dissident voices
or discredit opinions that confront the government. According to the Wall Street Journal,
“while it didn’t explicitly spell out what it meant by ‘fake news’,” the government has been
cracking down on the dissemination of rumours or thinly sourced reports that it says contribute
to social instability”. According to the People’s Daily, nine government departments are
involved in the crackdown on such activity (The Wall Street Journal, 2014).
References
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Chan, E., & Blundy, R. 2019. ‘Bulletproof’ China-backed doxxing site attacks Hong Kong’s
democracy activists. Hong Kong Free Press.
https://hongkongfp.com/2019/11/01/bulletproof-china-backed-doxxing-site- attackshong-kongs-democracy-activists/
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https://medium.com/dfrlab/china-exploits-italian-coronavirus-outbreak-to-expand-itsinfluence- 967a6998fea3
Doctorow, C. 2016. China's online astroturf is mostly produced by government workers as
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