MicroWaveAug 30, 2023

Chinese Intel Officers Interfered in U.S. Election

https://lemmy.world/post/4131229

Chinese Intel Officers Interfered in U.S. Election - Lemmy.world

China is behind the largest known covert propaganda operation ever identified on Facebook and Instagram, according to a new report by security researchers at Meta. Meta on Tuesday outed the authors of a four-year long influence campaign dubbed “Spamouflage Dragon,” which first appeared in 2019 to spread propaganda about Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests. Since then, the campaign has focused on spreading disinformation about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, attacking dissidents and critics abroad, criticizing the United States, and attempting to sow division during the 2022 midterm elections. For years, researchers have speculated that the voluminous Spamouflage Dragon posts were connected to the Chinese government but have been unable to publicly prove a link until now. The link comes courtesy of overlapping content found in both Meta’s report and charges filed against Chinese intelligence operatives back in spring.

Show threadSorchistAug 30, 2023

So apparently they really suck at it? That's kind of hilarious

The trolls have demonstrated a weak command of idiomatic English with articles that, while prolific, often misspell key names or use English and Mandarin interchangeably. Other posts — like a critique of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s August 2022 trip to Taiwan — appear long after the events they purported to preview.

At other times, the spammers attempted to push niche and esoteric Chinese propaganda talking points onto unreceptive audiences by piggybacking on clickable search engine optimized headlines. In one case cited by Meta researchers, Spamouflage Dragon trolls filled the replies of social media forum questions like “How do I lose belly fat through weight lifting?” with propaganda articles about “Chinese Police Strengthening International Law Enforcement Cooperation.”

They don't mention what the propagandists push about COVID. The usual line from weirdo propagandists is that COVID is a secret bioweapon and was released from the Wuhan labs intentionally. I assume China wouldn't sign on to that one? Do they just push the scientific consensus, which is that the origin is unknown but is probably natural, and possibly an unintentional lab leak? Or an exaggeration thereof which completely discounts the lab leak theory but still asserts what is most probable -- it's from animals? That's pretty weak sauce for propaganda. Maybe they push some nuance about COVID that only the Chinese government cares about. Or maybe they go buck wild and say it was developed by NATO biolabs in Ukraine.

Show threadNightAuthorAug 30, 2023
Consensus has always been likely lab leak, higher ups were just covering for fauci and his involvement in funding the lab. And others were silenced by the whole “lab leak theory is racist” mob.
Show threadpips
Yes. You are misinformed.
Aug 30, 2023 at 3:04pmWeb
Show threadNightAuthorAug 30, 2023
Would… you… mind… sharing your source of information? I don’t recall precisely where I got my information from, but it was definitely along the lines of CNN/MSNBC/NYT and not Breitbart or Trump, jic its that cultural identity that people are downvoting.
Show threadmustardmanAug 30, 2023

I don’t think a possible lab leak has been ruled out, however, my understanding is that we really just don’t know (at least publicly).

I think the downvotes are a reaction to the amount of COVID-19 misinformation that has been pumped out over the years, with the lab leak theory being pushed by people who didn’t even believe in COVID in the first place.

Show threadSimpsonatorAug 30, 2023
Can you give me a source from CNN/MSNBC/NYT where the meat market origin was created to cover up for Fauci? Your entire premise, save the idea that a lab “might” have been the source, is all conspiracy theory and not at all consensus.
Show threadCethinAug 30, 2023
The most recent lab leak stuff, as far as I’m aware, which did make the news was a thing published by some federal agency detailing the lab leak. However, what they didn’t (and rarely do) report was that it had a low confidence rating. It was basically them exploring the idea, but they don’t believe that was the cause. Just one possible cause out of many.
Show threadNightAuthorAug 31, 2023

My understanding was that “low confidence” meant more like 51% chance… not 1% chance. And even that is a far cry from what most liberals are willing to even discuss.

I just wish we could actually have more discussion on these things, but everyone just lumps everything into good guys vs bad guys. If you don’t instantly 110% agree with me, ur the bad guy.

I’m just a fucking guy. And so are most people.

Show threadCethinAug 31, 2023

Low confidence generally means questionable or implausible information was used, the information is too fragmented or poorly corroborated to make solid analytic inferences, or significant concerns or problems with sources existed.

Basically, it means not reliable. It’s not a percentage thing, just a thing that says we can’t verify much, if any, of what was said. Someone said it though.

Analytic confidence - Wikipedia

Show threadjackalopeSep 1, 2023
The lab leak theory has never Bene more than a theory and there has certainly been no scientific consensus in favor of it.