Chinese marketing firm likely organized and promoted protests in Washington last year as part of a wideranging proBeijing influence campaign according to new research. One of the protests was against a US government ban on goods produced in Chinas Xinjiang region where US officials have accused the Chinese government of systematic repression of the Uyghurs. The Chinese firm also used a network of over fake news websites to promote proChina content in an example of the more aggressive efforts by proChina operatives to influence US political debate in recent years according to security firm Mandiant. The hired protesters who included selfproclaimed musicians and actors in the Washington DC area apparently had no idea they were being enlisted in a proChina influence campaign the Mandiant researchers said. The campaign backed by the Chinese firm Shanghai Haixun Technology Co. Ltd. is intended to sow discord in US society Ryan Serabian a senior analyst at Mandiant told . In both cases protesters carry placards and chant slogans about racial discrimination and abortion in the US. In the runup to the US presidential elections Russian operatives used social media to organize protests on American soil according to US intelligence officials. Such divisive tactics are no longer confined to the Russians according to election security experts. During the US midterm elections proChina propagandists showed signs of engaging in Russiastyle influence activities that stoke American divisions FBI officials told reporters last year. The FBI pointed to Facebooks shutdown of accounts originating in China that posted memes mocking President Joe Biden and Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. China has always adhered to noninterference in other countries internal affairs. Liu Pengyu a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said he was unaware of the details of the research. The Washington Post first reported on theMandiant research. Liu said in an email to . The Beijing embassy said it was unaware that the research had been published and that it has never interfered in any other country’s internal affairs or foreign policy. The firm did not respond to a request for comment for this article or a request to comment on the findings of Mandiant’s analysis of the activity. It is not known if the firm has been involved in any of the recent protests in the U.S. that have been reported by the Washington Post and the New York Times in the past. The company has not commented on the reports or whether it has engaged in any influence activities in the United States in the recent past. It has not responded to any requests for comment on this article from The New York Post or the Times for a response to this article. It was not known whether the firm had any involvement in the protests in D.C. or any other events in the last year that were publicized by Mandiant or if the company had any knowledge of the events that took place in Washington in the first place. The protests were held on the sidelines of a June conference on international religious freedom. The other protest was on the. sidelines of an international conference on religious freedom Mandiant said. It showed the scope and ambition of the proChina efforts.
Pro-Chinese online influence campaign promoted protests in Washington, researchers say. Pro-Chinese social media campaigns have been linked to anti-Chinese protests in the past.
