covid-19 disinformation & social media manipulation trends

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Covid-19disinformationandsocialmediamanipulationtrends8April–15April

ArangeofactorsaremanipulatingtheinformationenvironmenttoexploittheCovid-19crisisforstrategicgain.ASPI’sInternationalCyberPolicyCentreistrackingmanyofthesestateandnon-stateactorsonlineandwilloccasionallypublishinvestigativedata-drivenreportingthatwillfocusontheuseofdisinformation,propaganda,extremistnarrativesandconspiracytheories.ThebulkofASPI’sdataanalysisusesourin-houseInfluenceTrackertool—amachinelearninganddataanalyticscapabilitythatdrawsoutinsightsfrommulti-languagesocialmediadatasets.ThisreportincludesthreecasestudiesthatfeatureChina,Taiwan,RussiaandAfrica.

Summary

• ASPI’sanalysisofourTwitterdatasetofChinesediplomaticandstatemediaaccountsthisweek(8–15April)showsthatChinesestate-sponsoredmessaginghassoughttoleveragetheWorldHealthOrganization(WHO)anditsregionalaffiliate,thePanAmericanHealthOrganization,todemonstratewillingandtransparentengagementwithglobalhealthgovernancestructures.i

• China’scontainmentofthepandemic,economicrecoveryandglobalengagementareconsistentthemesondiplomaticTwitteraccountsandstatemedia.CoordinatedmessagingacrossdiplomaticsocialmediaaccountsandstatemediasignalafocusondiplomaticrelationshipswithAfrica,inparttorespondtonegativecoverageinWesternmediaoftheplightofAfricanresidentsfacingevictioninChinesecities.China’scrisisresponseengagementwithregionalbodiesfeaturessignificantly.

• ElementsofChina’smessagingcontinuetodemonstratedisinformationtacticssimilartocoordinatedandpersistentRussianstate-sponsoreddisinformationcampaignsandtheChinesestate’seffortstocontesttheinformationdomainaresupportedbycoordinated,althoughnotnecessarilyinauthentic,pro-Chinapatriotictrolling.

• Russia-aligneddisinformationisexploitingthehealthcrisisasitunfoldsinAfricatoexacerbatetensionswiththeWest.

• Russia-linkedactorsarecapitalisingonmisstepsbythewestbyamplifyingthemovertlythroughstate-sponsoredmediaoutletsandbyleveraginganetworkofFacebookgroupspreviouslyidentifiedaspartofaRussianinformationoperationtargetingAfricancountries.

1.OverviewofChinesestate-sponsoredmessagingonTwitter

China’sstate-sponsoredmessagingabouttheWHOtendstowardspositivesentiment.TheFrench-language(commonlyusedinAfrica)versionoftheWHOhashtag—#OMS—isoneofthetop20mostfrequentlyusedhashtagsovertheweekintheASPIInfluenceTrackerdatasetofChinesediplomaticandstatemediaTwitteraccounts.Throughthehigh-profileaccountsofHuaChunyingandLijianZhao,China’sMinistryofForeignAffairsisexploitingtensionsabouttheperformanceoftheWHO.

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HuaChunying(9April)assertedChina’scommittedengagementwiththeinternationalbody,contrastingChina’sleveloftransparencywiththeWHOwiththatoftheUS.Hua’stweetwassandwichedbetween‘timelines’releasedbyXinhuaiiandCGTNiiiofbothChina’sandtheWHO’sresponsetothepandemic.CGTN’stimelineoftheWHO’sresponsewasamplifiedacrossChina’sdiplomaticandstatemediaaccounts,becomingthesecondmostsharedURLbythoseaccounts.ZhaousedthecontroversyaboutTaiwan’srelationshipwiththeWHOtoreassertthe‘OneChina’principle.

China’sresponsewasconsistentlyfavourablycomparedwiththoseofEuropeandtheUS.DiplomaticaccountsassertChina’sengagementwithregionalbodiessuchasASEAN,theArabLeagueandtheAfricanUnion.ASPI’sInfluenceTrackershowsthatoneofthetopURLsharesacrossthe

datasetofChinesediplomaticandstatemediaaccountswasatweetfromtheWorldIntellectualPropertyOrganization,whichincorporatedananimatedgraphicnotingChinaovertakingtheUSthrough2019inthefilingofinternationalpatents.TheURLmostsharedacrossthedataset(seeFigure1)isanarticlefromXinhuathatfocusesonChina’swillingnesstosupportAfrica’sCOVID-19response,focusingonaphonecallbetweenPresidentXiandPresidentRamaphosaofSouthAfrica.ElementsofthemessaginganalysedbyASPI’sInfluenceTrackerdisplaytechniquesassociatedwithRussiandisinformationtactics.First,there’stemporalalignmentinthecontentthemesontheTwitteraccountsofdiplomats,embassiesandstatemedia.Second,inanapproachsimilartothatofRussianstatemedia,inanefforttoassertdiscoursepower,China’scoordinatedmessagingdirectlymirrorsthemesthatemergefromWesternmediacoverage.TheChinesestate’seffortstocontesttheinformationdomainaresupportedbycoordinated,althoughnotnecessarilyinauthentic,pro-Chinapatriotictrolling(thefollowingsectionprovidesacasestudyofacoordinatedpro-Chinacampaign,closelyalignedincontentandtimeframewithstate-drivenmessaging,althoughnotnecessarilystatedirected).Third,China’sdiplomatsandstatemediaareusingWesternvoicessuchasUSofficialsandpoliticians(seeFigure2)andforeignersresidinginChinaasavehicleformanipulatingtheinformationenvironment.

Figure 1: Most shared URL shows promotion of China's support for Africa's COVID-19 response

Figure 2: Spinning Senator Tom Cotton’s comments to deflect claims of Chinese state-sponsored disinformation

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Forexample,through8–15AprilChinesediplomaticandstatemediaaccountsexploitedaFacebookpostfromaSwedishstudentlivinginNingbo,inwhichthestudentusedcolloquiallanguagetopraiseChina’spandemiccontrolscomparedtotheinadequateresponseof‘theWest’,whichhasbecomedependentonChinesemedicalassistanceasaresult.ivThearticlewasrepostedfromCGTNtoVietnamInsider:thatURLfeaturesasthetwelfthmostsharedintheInfluenceTrackerdataset,andthearticleshowsasthesecondmostpopularfeatureontheVietnamInsidersite(at16April–seeFigure3).OtherapproachesincludespinningcommentaryfromUSvoicessuchasSenatorTomCotton(seeFigure2)todeflectclaimsofChinesestate-sponsoreddisinformation.

2.Coordinatedanti-Taiwantrolling:#saysrytoTedros

AfterDrTedrosAdhanom,theWHODirector-General,accusedTaiwanofracialattacksagainsthim,anetworkofsixty-fiveaccountspurportingtobeTaiwanesenetizensstartedapologisingtohimviathehashtag#saysrytoTedros.SixtypercentoftheseaccountsoriginallytweetedinsimplifiedChinesecharacters(usedonthemainland)butswitchedtotraditionalcharacters(usedinTaiwan)totweettheapologies.Thefirsttweet(seeFigure4)occurredat8.13pm(6.13pmChinaStandardTime)on9April2020fromtheTMGNewsaccount:

Englishtranslation:IamaTaiwanese,andIamextremelyashamedthattheTaiwanesehaveattackedTedrosmaliciously.OnbehalfoftheTaiwanese,IapologizetoTedrosandbegforhisforgiveness.#saysrytoTedros@WHO

Thiswasretweetedbythe‘RFXZ_China’vand‘RCRC_Chinese’viaccounts,followedbyastreamofaccounts(someofwhichhavenowbeensuspended)copyingtheapologyinChineseandEnglishuntil5.00amthenextday.At9.00am,WilliamYang,acorrespondentforDWHotspotAsia,viinoticedthecampaignbeforeitwaspickedupbytheTaiwaneseInvestigativeBureau.viiiOverall,60%ofthe65uniqueaccountspostedmorethan100tweets‘apologising’onbehalfofTaiwanovertheperiodfrom8.00pmto5.00am.

Figure 3: Swedish student’s social media post as 2nd most read feature on Vietnam Insider

Figure 4:The first tweet apologising to Tedros with #saysrytoTedros

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Networkanalysis(seeFigure5)ofthe‘following’listsofthese65accountsshowsaclusterofcommonlyfollowedaccounts.Thenetworkgraphoppositeiscolouredandsizedbythenumberoffollowersinthegroup;smallwhitenodesrepresentaccountswithlittlefollowers,andlargeorangecirclesshowmultiplefollowers.Themostcommonlyfollowedaccountsinthecentreare‘zlj517’(LijianZhao)and‘SpokespersonCHN’.Anothercommonlyfollowedaccountis‘realdonaldtrump’.OtherChinesestate-linkedaccountsincludedinthisclusterare:‘mfa_china’,‘cgntofficial’,and‘xhnews’.Commonfeaturesofthoseaccountsindicatethattheymightbeinauthenticandpartofabroadercampaign.Thosefeaturesinclude:

• followingChinesestateassociatedaccounts,suchas‘zlj517’and‘SpokespersonCHN’;• followingpopularWesternaccounts,suchas‘realdonaldtrump’and‘taylorswift13’butwithalack

ofothernon-celebrityorgenuineaccounts;• limitedaccountsfollowingback;• recentcreationdates;• periodsofinactivityandinconsistentactivity;• retweetsofknowntrollsorpropagandaoutlets.

3.RussianandChineseCovid-19disinformationinAfrica

Misinformation,disinformationandconspiracytheoriesrelatingtovaccinesareagrowingprobleminmanyAfricannations.ixAFacebookpost(seeFigure6below)claimingthatahospitalinNairobiwasburnedbyangryresidentsafterdiscoveringa‘poisoned’batchofCovid-19vaccinationsfromtheUShadbeensharedmorethan9,600timesasof9April.ThereappearstobenoreportingbymediaofanattackonaKenyanhospital,andtheimagesfromtheFacebookpostcomefromarangeofsourcesincludinga2017DeutscheWellereportxaboutprotestsintheDemocraticRepublicofCongoanda2019attackonahospitalinCameroon.xi

Figure 5: Network graph of accounts followed by those tweeting #saysrytoTedros

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TheposthasbeensharedacrossFacebookgroupsinmultiplecountries,includingtheCentralAfricanRepublic,CameroonxiiandMadagascar.xiiiRussia-linkedactorshavesoughttoexploitacontroversysparkedwhenFrenchmedicalscientistssuggestedinatelevisioninterviewthataCovid-19vaccineshouldbetestedinAfrica.xivThecommentsbythedoctorsmetwithastrongreactiononsocialmedia,andhashtagsincluding#Africansarenotlabratsand#Africansarenotguineapigsgainedsignificantandlargelyauthentictraction.Russia-linkedactorshavesoughttocapitaliseonthisgenuineoutrageinanumberofways.

Overtlystate-sponsoredoutletssuchasRTandSputnikdedicatedsubstantialcoveragetotheincidentinmultiplelanguages,includingentirearticlesaboutoutragedsocialmediareactionsaccusingtheWestofracismandcolonialism.xvUS-basedRTaffiliateSoapboxcreatedaFacebookvideo(seeFigure7)abouttheincidentaimedatWesternaudiences.xviThecontroversyhasalsobeenamplifiedthroughFacebookgroupspreviouslyidentifiedaspartofaRussianinformationoperationtargetingAfricancountries.xviiForexample,thecontroversywastheprimaryfocusofactivityontheCentralAfrican-basedFacebookgroupJeunessederrièrelaRussiebetween3April,whentheFrenchdoctors’commentswentviral,and5April,includingatleast17postsfocusedonthetopicsharedoverthatperiod.xviiiThisbehaviourisn’tnecessarilyinauthentic,butmayreflecteffortstodirectthesocialmediaconversationaspartofRussia’sbroadereffortstoundermineWestern,particularlyFrench,influenceinAfrica.OtheractorsarealsoseekingtoinfluencethenarrativeabouttheCovid-19crisisinAfrica.ChinesetelevisionchannelStarTimes,whichhassignificantaudienceshareinmanypartsofAfrica,haslaunchedadailyshowpresentingnewsaboutthecrisisforanAfricanaudience.xix

Figure 6: Facebook post claiming poisoned Covid-19 vaccinations from the US

Figure 7: RT affiliate video exploiting controversy about vaccine testing in Africa

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iThebulkofASPI’sdataanalysisusesourin-houseInfluenceTrackertool—amachinelearninganddataanalyticscapabilitythatdrawsoutinsightsfrommulti-languagesocialmediadatasets.Thisnewtoolcaningestdatainmultiplelanguagesandauto-translate,producinginsightsontopics,sentiment,sharedcontent,influentialaccounts,metricsofimpactandpostingpatterns.ii‘ChinapublishestimelineonCOVID-19informationsharing,int’lcooperation’,Xinhuanet,6April2020,online.iii‘WHOreleasestimelineofitsactionsagainstCOVID-19’,CGTN,13April2020,online.ivMaZhenhuan,‘SwedeinNingbogetsglobalattentionwithpostonCOVID-19response’,ChinaDaily,14April2020,online.v‘Freexuzhouradio’,Twitter,3April2020,online(inChinese).vi‘CommunistRedCrossRadio’,Twitter,online.viiWilliamYang,Twitter,10April2020,online.viiiWilliamYang,Twitter,10April2020,online.ixKyleCowan,‘FACTCHECK:HowalieaboutBillGatesandavaccineforthecoronavirusexplodedonTwitter’,News24,7April2020,online.xPatrickKasonde,‘RDC:ManifestationsàLubumbashi’[DRC:ProtestsinLubumbashi],DW,16November2017,online(inFrench).xi‘Cameroon:4dieoffire,5carsburntinKumbaDistricthospitalinferno’,Freelafric,nodate,online.xiiSongueRaphael,Facebook,4April2020,online.xiiiAinaRazaf,Facebook,4April2020,online.xivRebeccaRosman,‘RacismrowasFrenchdoctorssuggestvirusvaccinetestinAfrica’,al-Jazeera,4April2020,online.xv‘Covid-19:uneséquencesurletestd’unvaccinenAfriquefaitpolémique’[Covid-19:asequenceonthetestofavaccineinAfricaiscontroversial],RTFrance,3April2020,online(inFrench).xvi‘SoapboxStand’,Facebook,4April2020,online.xviiEliseThomas,‘WhathappenswhenthesametechniquesusedtointerferewithUSelectionsareadaptedtoawarzoneintheheartofAfrica?Theresultsarebrutal.’,DailyBeast,23March2019,online.xviiiJeunessederrièrelaRussie,Facebook,4April2020,online(inFrench).xix‘StarTimesDaily,COVID-19report’,YouTube,6April2020,online.