Three former officials revealed to Reuters that former president Donald Trump tasked the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to create a social media campaign against the Chinese government.
The agency allegedly created a small team responsible for fake internet identities and spreading negative narratives against Xi Jinping's government.
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Trump Orders CIA to Attack Chinese Government, Says Former Employees
An exclusive report revealed that the CIA started the mission in 2019, two years after Trump won his presidency. According to the involved officials, they were focused on leaking bad intel to overseas news outlets.
Although the former officials did not specify the details of the operation, they shared that the leaked stories were based on facts secretly released by intel operatives undercover. The goal was to create paranoia among China's top leaders, forcing their government to spend resources chasing nothing.
"We wanted them chasing ghosts," one of these former officials said.
U.S. Government Relies Heavily on Social Media Power
A spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented that the report showed that the U.S. government is keen on using "public opinion space and media platforms as weapons to spread false information and manipulate international public opinion."
Previously, Trump also allegedly gave power to the CIA to launch offensive cyber operations against U.S. adversaries after tracing Russian and Chinese cyberattacks on American organizations.
Although the administration of president Joe Biden declined to comment on whether the program remains active, the government is still showing an aggressive approach against China.
For instance, the government is now pushing toward banning TikTok in the country due to alleged national security risks, especially during elections. The Federal Communications Commission is also investigating any violation of receiving signals from foreign satellites such as China and Russia.
