Social media campaign linked to Chinese government spreading disinformation about Australian politics, thinktank says

Tue, 21 Feb 2023 13:26:24 +1100

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/feb/09/social-media-campaign-linked-to-chinese-government-spreading-disinformation-about-australian-politics-thinktank-says>

"A coordinated foreign influence campaign linked to the Chinese government is
using social media to undermine confidence in Australia’s democratic system,
according to researchers at a Canberra-based defence thinktank.

The researchers believe the network is operating from within China and is
either spreading disinformation about Australian politics or amplifying
concerns about political scandals. They reference rape allegations made by the
former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins and against the former attorney general
Christian Porter, which he strongly denies.

The network is believed to have about 30 active accounts so far, which mostly
appear to be women. In almost all cases, their posts use the #auspol and #QandA
hashtags often used to discuss politics on Twitter. They post in English and
Mandarin.

Albert Zhang, a disinformation analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy
Institute, said the network is believed to be Spamouflage, a Chinese
state-aligned foreign interference operation that has targeted many nations."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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