Former President Donald Trump in 2019 ordered a covert CIA mission to sow public distrust of the Chinese government through social media, three former U.S. officials told Reuters. According to the officials, a select group of CIA agents used fake profiles and identities to spread disparaging messages about Xi Jinping’s administration, including claims that the Communist Party was stashing dirty money abroad and wastefully financing development projects in other countries. They also leaked intellegence to media in other countries and targeted places where the U.S. and China vie for influence, intending to sway public opinion against China there. A spokeswoman for the CIA declined to comment on the program’s existence, and it’s unclear if it continued under the Biden administration or if it was successful. The op, which has roots in Cold War-era propaganda tactics, could seriously hurt the United States’ international reputation, a former CIA analyst told Reuters. Beijing could use it as evidence of nefarious U.S. foreign intervention in other countries where the U.S. is already unpopular.
