Pentagon ran secret anti-vax campaign to undermine China during pandemic


At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. military launched a secret campaign to counter what it perceived as China’s growing influence in the Philippines, a nation hit especially hard by the deadly virus.

It aimed to sow doubt about the safety and efficacy of vaccines and other life-saving aid that was being supplied by China, a Reuters investigation found. Through phony internet accounts meant to impersonate Filipinos, the military’s propaganda efforts morphed into an anti-vax campaign. Social media posts decried the quality of face masks, test kits and the first vaccine that would become available in the Philippines – China’s Sinovac inoculation.

Read more…
Source: Reuters


Sign up for our Newsletter


Related:

  • This Phishing Attack is Almost Impossible to Detect On Chrome, Firefox and Opera

    April 17, 2017

    A Chinese infosec researcher has discovered a new “almost impossible to detect” phishing attack that can be used to trick even the most careful users on the Internet. He warned, Hackers can use a known vulnerability in the Chrome, Firefox and Opera web browsers to display their fake domain names as the websites of legitimate services, ...

  • In line with PM Modi’s push, Army gets new software to enhance cyber security

    April 2, 2017

    In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s push for enhancing cyber security, the Indian Army is testing the indigenous BOSS (Bharat Operating System Solutions) to guard its communication and information networks from espionage by foreign players. In his maiden address to the senior commanders of the three services, the prime minister had asked them to guard ...

  • Laptops With More than 3.7 Million Hong Kong Voters’ Data Stolen

    March 28, 2017

    The Registration and Electoral Office of Hong Kong has reported the disappearance of two laptop computers after the chief executive election. The laptops contained around 3.7 million city’s voters personal information that could be compromised after the one of the most significant, if not the biggest ever data breaches in Hong Kong. The information that was ...

  • China’s Quest for Cybersecurity Causes Headache for Foreign Companies

    March 18, 2017

    “There is no national security without cybersecurity,” declared President Xi Jinping at the inaugural meeting of the Central Leading Group for Cybersecurity and Informatization in February 2014. His words acted as the starter’s gun for a cyberspace regulation marathon in China. Since then, Chinese authorities have tightened the state’s control over all things cyber: from ...

  • Nation States Distancing Themselves from APTs

    February 14, 2017

    Security researchers say a new trend in privateering is gaining traction among nation states, which are increasingly contracting with private companies to carry out state-sponsored attacks. Typically APT attacks have been the work of internal government spy apparatuses, but outsourcing allows nation states to shift risk, dodge attribution claims and take advantage of more sophisticated APT ...