The department of Foreign Affairs announced on Monday that China is likely behind another online defamation campaign aimed at MPs. This is the second attack in four months.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the department of Foreign Affairs stated that China swamped the social media accounts of MPs with defamatory comments.“It likely seeks to discredit and denigrate the targeted MPs through seemingly organic posts alleging impropriety by posting waves of social media posts and videos that call into question the political and ethical standards of the MPs,” the department said in a statement. “It likely seeks to silence criticism of the Chinese Communist Party by getting MPs to distance themselves from the critic and discouraging wider online communities from engaging with them.”These campaigns targeted many MPs. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre were among those targeted.Analysts said that beginning in early August and continuing through Labour Day, Chinese agents flooded MPs’ Facebook and Twitter accounts with “thousands of comments” alleging criminal or unethical conduct. “The same bot networks involved in this campaign were engaged in the spreading of disinformation claiming the Hawaiian wildfires were caused by a secret U.S. military weather weapon,” wrote analysts.“The bot network is part of the well-known spamouflage network,” said the department. “Spamouflage has been publicly reported by technology companies and threat intelligence experts who have connected the activity to the People’s Republic of China.”The slander campaign was intended to “discourage and make it difficult for MPs to carry out their duties and may dissuade MPs and diaspora communities in Canada from speaking out,” it said. The department did not elaborate.On August 9, federal researchers revealed another slander campaign on the Chinese-language WeChat platform directed at Conservative MP Michael Chong (Wellington-Halton Hills, ON).Chong had been consistently criticized after successfully putting forward a motion in the House of Commons condemning China for its human rights abuses.“Between May 4 and 13, a coordinated network of WeChat news accounts featured, shared and amplified a large volume false or misleading narratives about Mr. Chong,” said the department of Foreign Affairs. “Most of the activity was targeted at spreading false narratives about his identity including commentary and claims about his background, political stances and family heritage.”Former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu (Steveston-Richmond East, BC) attributed his defeat in the 2021 general election to a negative social media campaign against him.Chiu lost his riding by 3,477 votes to Liberal MP Parm Bains after facing continuous accusations that he was a Chinese traitor.“There was a coordinated attack against me and my Party,” Chiu testified at the House Affairs committee on May 10. “I gave a call to a Canadian Security Intelligence Service contact I had. They came to my campaign office and we had a meeting.”
The department of Foreign Affairs announced on Monday that China is likely behind another online defamation campaign aimed at MPs. This is the second attack in four months.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the department of Foreign Affairs stated that China swamped the social media accounts of MPs with defamatory comments.“It likely seeks to discredit and denigrate the targeted MPs through seemingly organic posts alleging impropriety by posting waves of social media posts and videos that call into question the political and ethical standards of the MPs,” the department said in a statement. “It likely seeks to silence criticism of the Chinese Communist Party by getting MPs to distance themselves from the critic and discouraging wider online communities from engaging with them.”These campaigns targeted many MPs. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre were among those targeted.Analysts said that beginning in early August and continuing through Labour Day, Chinese agents flooded MPs’ Facebook and Twitter accounts with “thousands of comments” alleging criminal or unethical conduct. “The same bot networks involved in this campaign were engaged in the spreading of disinformation claiming the Hawaiian wildfires were caused by a secret U.S. military weather weapon,” wrote analysts.“The bot network is part of the well-known spamouflage network,” said the department. “Spamouflage has been publicly reported by technology companies and threat intelligence experts who have connected the activity to the People’s Republic of China.”The slander campaign was intended to “discourage and make it difficult for MPs to carry out their duties and may dissuade MPs and diaspora communities in Canada from speaking out,” it said. The department did not elaborate.On August 9, federal researchers revealed another slander campaign on the Chinese-language WeChat platform directed at Conservative MP Michael Chong (Wellington-Halton Hills, ON).Chong had been consistently criticized after successfully putting forward a motion in the House of Commons condemning China for its human rights abuses.“Between May 4 and 13, a coordinated network of WeChat news accounts featured, shared and amplified a large volume false or misleading narratives about Mr. Chong,” said the department of Foreign Affairs. “Most of the activity was targeted at spreading false narratives about his identity including commentary and claims about his background, political stances and family heritage.”Former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu (Steveston-Richmond East, BC) attributed his defeat in the 2021 general election to a negative social media campaign against him.Chiu lost his riding by 3,477 votes to Liberal MP Parm Bains after facing continuous accusations that he was a Chinese traitor.“There was a coordinated attack against me and my Party,” Chiu testified at the House Affairs committee on May 10. “I gave a call to a Canadian Security Intelligence Service contact I had. They came to my campaign office and we had a meeting.”
