'So what?' Internet divided over claims Donald Trump launched covert CIA operation against China using social media

WASHINGTON, DC: Three former US officials have come forward claiming that in 2019, former President Donald Trump gave the CIA instructions to spread false information against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on Chinese social media platforms, per Reuters.

Their objective was to sway public sentiment against the CCP and to achieve this, a small team was formed that used fabricated online identities to promote damaging narratives about Chinese President, Xi Jinping's administration.

It is worth noting that the Chinese internet is highly regulated and censors the dissemination of certain types of content.

What did the former CIA officials say about their classified operation?

According to DailyMail, the CIA team members claimed to have compounded allegations surrounding the nature of China's Belt and Road Initiative, which funds foreign infrastructure projects in developing countries, by deeming it wasteful and corrupt.

The team is also said to have circulated stories about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials storing suspicious amounts of money in overseas bank accounts.

This is despite the country's strict laws surrounding international money transfers.

Although additional details about these operations have not been provided, the officials have acknowledged that the negative stories they circulated were based on factual evidence.

The primary objective of this mission was to create paranoia among CCP leadership. Additionally, it aimed to impose a burden on the CCP by compelling them to expend valuable resources investigating how the dissent was distributed on the highly regulated Chinese internet in the first place.

“We wanted them chasing ghosts,” one of the officials stated.

According to a spokesperson from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the disclosure indicates that US officials utilize the “public opinion space and media platforms as weapons to spread false information and manipulate international public opinion.”

The ex-CIA officials undertook these covert measures in response to several years of China's aggressive intelligence and global influence operations.

These clandestine activities were deemed necessary to counter the Chinese government's pervasive efforts to expand its sphere of influence through various channels.

However, China's Foreign Ministry stated that Beijing adheres to a “principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries and does not interfere in the domestic affairs of the United States.”

Former officials have revealed that CIA operations were carried out to influence public opinion in countries beyond China.

The missions were aimed at shaping public sentiment in Southeast Asia, Africa, and the South Pacific, regions where China's Belt and Road Initiatives were being implemented.

“The feeling was China was coming at us with steel baseball bats and we were fighting back with wooden ones,” a former national security official remarked.

According to the three former officials, Matt Pottinger, a senior official on the National Security Council, was responsible for creating the authorization for this specific operation.

The authorization, which cited alleged threats to US national security, included claims of intellectual property theft and military expansion by the CCP.

Pottinger, however, did not provide any comment regarding the “accuracy or inaccuracy of allegations about US intelligence activities.”

Internet divided over Donald Trump authorizing covert CIA mission to sow distrust of Chinese government

People on X expressed their immediate reactions to the news of the former President ordering a CIA operation to disparage the CCP on Chinese social media platforms to sway public opinion against the government.

One X user remarked: "It wasn’t really covert…..he’s been screaming about China for years while actively trying to do business with them."

Another user said: "Good! Communists bad."

Another user wrote: "So what, they are communists."

One user claimed: "People already dont even trust China! Is that even freaking necessary! Like people dont trust the chinese government even without the central intelligence getting involved. You see how Donald Trump would waste tax payer money in stupid ways like this!"

Another X user quipped: "His buddy Xi Jinping not going to be happy."

Finally, this user tweeted: "I dont know about all of you but Donald Trump and the MAGATs are more of a threat to America than China is."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.