The Spamouflage Dragon Campaign
China is trying to harm the United States by running an anti-Israel Cyber campaign, which involves spreading disinformation against Joe Biden’s government. The operation, known as Dragonbridge or Spamouflage Dragon, encompasses thousands of accounts created on various platforms, which post false information about the US support for Israel in the ongoing war.
The Chinese propaganda network has been in existence since 2018. It is intended to boost China’s image while diminishing that of other countries like the United States, which Beijing considers competitors. Spamouflage Dragon was first identified in 2019 by network analysis company Graphika. It is mostly active on big platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
Those behind the operation use hijacked social media accounts to share political content, degrading the United States. Such accounts give the impression of an organic following. The latest disinformation being spread through Spamouflage Dragon is that the United States’ aid to Israel is causing the war to expand to other Middle Eastern countries.
Those behind the campaign argue that terror groups from Yemen and Lebanon would not have launched attacks on Israel if the United States soldiers refrained from helping the Jewish State in its fight against Hamas. Lebanese Hezbollah and Yemeni Houthi have targeted Israel severally over the past weeks.
China Presents Itself as Peace Broker Amid War in the Middle East
Meanwhile, China has taken a neutral position in the ongoing war and sells itself as a peace broker. Since October 7, when Hamas killed over 1,200 people in Israel, Beijing has not criticized the terrorist group for its evil actions. Instead, the Chinese government has been calling for a ceasefire and adoption of a two-state solution.
The Israeli embassy in China recently criticized Xi Jinping’s government for not condemning Hamas. Yunal Waks, a top official at the embassy, told Reuters this wasn’t the right time for Beijing to advocate for a two-state solution and that Israel expected “strong condemnation” of the Gaza-based terror group from Jinping’s administration.
Facebook Targets Accounts Promoting China’s Agenda
Following the growing cases of propaganda being spread against the United States, Meta has said it is monitoring Facebook accounts spreading disinformation in favor of Beijing and will ban them permanently. Last year, the tech giant removed over 7,000 accounts involved in the Spamouflage Dragon campaign.
