US firm accuses China of using bot accounts to drown out news about protests

A US cybersecurity firm has claimed that the Chinese government tried to flood social media with spam content to ensure that the world does not pay attention to the protests against Covid lockdowns in the country.

The US firm, called Recorded Future, found a network of bot accounts that targeted non-Chinese social media platforms. These bot accounts hijacked posts about the protests with spam content. The firm said that the Chinese government was most likely behind it.

"These spambot networks are resilient, well-resourced and agile. The rate at which they are posting content and spinning up new accounts tells us that they have automation tools to flood the information space," says Charity Wright, a senior analyst at Recorded Future.

"We believe it is likely that this was a large-scale operation either sponsored by the Chinese government or outsourced by the state to a surrogate like a well-resourced troll farm," she added.

Thousands of accounts and posts hijacked hashtags that were being used to write about the protests on social media platforms. These accounts used these hashtags to promote escorts, dating services, and pornography, drowning out news about protests.

Last week, China saw unprecedented protests against stifling Covid policies. The protests were seen in major cities like Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. Protesters forced authorities to relax restrictions in several cities, including Beijing.

Hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, and gyms have started functioning normally as of Monday in the aforementioned cities, per a report in The Guardian.

The fire in Urumqi, Xinjiang, which killed ten people, fuelled public outrage. People came out on the streets over suspicions that Covid restrictions hampered rescue efforts during the incident.

China is the only major economy in the world that is following the "zero-Covid" policy by imposing snap lockdowns, forced quarantines, and travel curbs. These snap lockdowns have not only been a source of resentment among its citizens but have also affected its economy.

China has defended its policy by saying that it is helping its system deal with the crisis and prevents it from being overrun.