A recent investigation is exposing a coordinated Chinese influence operation called spamouflage, a propaganda campaign that poses as legitimate news media to spread the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda.
A report by cybersecurity firm Graphika released in January said researchers identified 43 domains and 37 subdomains, hosted in China, impersonating outlets like the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Guardian, among others that push pro-CCP messaging.
Investigators at Graphika revealed that the domains copied specific design elements directly from the websites of legitimate outlets in an effort to make their impersonation more convincing.
These domains and subdomains hosted advertisements, Chinese-state media content, and pro-CPC messaging and are linked to “30 Chinese companies and three Chinese individuals involved in public relations (PR) and digital marketing.”
After Chinese marketing and PR firms placed content on the spoofed websites, the clients often promoted the material on Chinese platforms and websites, claiming it as evidence that influential news outlets had covered their companies, the report said.
In one example, the city of Changchun paid a Chinese PR firm more than $15,000 to publish hundreds of promotional reports and videos in what were described as international media networks.
A main target is Shen Yun Performing Arts, a New York-based company that showcases traditional Chinese culture and portrays China before communism.
Researchers said that many of these spoofed websites that attack Shen Yun were created over the past five years.
Shen Yun also depicts the CCP’s human rights abuses and suppression of religion.
The company was founded by practitioners of Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, a spiritual discipline based on meditation and moral teachings, and that has been severely persecuted by the CCP since 1999.
The emcee of Shen Yun Leeshai Lemish said that family members of Shen Yun performers face intimidation and persecution by the CCP.
“My first emcee partner was from Beijing, and the National Security Bureau would visit her family in Beijing every single weekend, telling them, we know what your daughter is doing, get her to stop it,” Lemish said.
“We had an arhu player, this is a musician soloist, when she was performing with us, her husband was jailed for three years and tortured,” he added.
They posted identical content at the same time, criticising Falun Gong and Shen Yun.
Most of the domains appear to target Chinese audiences, but several are designed for English-speaking readers overseas.
