Chinese Agents Spread Messages That Sowed Virus Panic in U.S., Officials Say

[Dennis Donovan]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/22/us/politics/coronavirus-china-disinformation.html

American officials were alarmed by fake text messages and social media posts that said President Trump was locking down the country. Experts see a convergence with Russian tactics.

By Edward Wong, Matthew Rosenberg and Julian E. Barnes
April 22, 2020, 5:00 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON — The alarming messages came fast and furious in mid-March, popping up on the cellphone screens and social media feeds of millions of Americans grappling with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Spread the word, the messages said: The Trump administration was about to lock down the entire country.

“They will announce this as soon as they have troops in place to help prevent looters and rioters,” warned one of the messages, which cited a source in the Department of Homeland Security. “He said he got the call last night and was told to pack and be prepared for the call today with his dispatch orders.”

The messages became so widespread over 48 hours that the White House’s National Security Council issued an announcement via Twitter that they were “FAKE.”

Since that wave of panic, United States intelligence agencies have assessed that Chinese operatives helped push the messages across platforms, according to six American officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to publicly discuss intelligence matters. The amplification techniques are alarming to officials because the disinformation showed up as texts on many Americans’ cellphones, a tactic that several of the officials said they had not seen before.

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[uponit7771]

1. Anyone else skeptical of the "China did it" theme? seeing it started with Trump admin I'm not ...

... giving it too much credit

[dalton99a]

2. +1. China is not behind every InfoWars theory and every scammer peddling bullshit cures

Republican strategists have decided that bashing China over the virus will shore up support for Mr. Trump and other conservative politicians before the November elections.

Given the toxic information environment, foreign policy analysts are worried that the Trump administration may politicize intelligence work or make selective leaks to promote an anti-China narrative. Those concerns hover around the speculation over the origin of the virus. American officials in the past have selectively passed intelligence to reporters to shape the domestic political landscape; the most notable instance was under President George W. Bush in the run-up to the Iraq War.

[Goodheart]

3. they want it both ways

"China didn't warn us!"

"China blew this out of proportion!"