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1,000 fake news sites exposed: Is China’s misinformation war just beginning
This initiative, propelled by Google’s Threat Intelligence Group, targeted the cartel of firms known as “Glassbridge,” which relentlessly churn out fake narratives in favour of the Chinese government.
Mountain View, CA, USA - July 28, 2023: The Googleplex headquarters complex of Google and its parent company, Alphabet Inc, located at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway in Mountain View, California.
Google shut down a huge network of more than 1,000 pro-China websites that pretended to be independent news sources in a major effort to combat misinformation.
This initiative, propelled by Google’s Threat Intelligence Group, targeted the cartel of firms known as “Glassbridge,” which relentlessly churn out fake narratives in favour of the Chinese government.
The insidious operators employed a façade of authenticity, creating hundreds of misleading domains that deceptively blended in with legitimate content, muddying the waters of genuine information and sowing discord with conspiracies and personal attacks.
Among the culprits, Shanghai Haixun Technology stood out, boasting a staggering inventory of 600 domains. This relentless entity, along with its three counterparts—Times Newswire, Durinbridge, and Shenzhen Bowen Media—were orchestrated under a single command, evident in their regurgitation of state-sponsored propaganda. By intertwining their disinformation tactics with credible sources, they aimed to confuse global audiences and further Beijing’s narrative, utilising digital PR firms to cloak their operations for plausible deniability.
According to Google’s Threat Intelligence Group, “Collectively these firms bulk-create and operate hundreds of domains that pose as independent news websites from dozens of countries, but are in fact publishing thematically similar, inauthentic content that emphasises narratives aligned to the political interests of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).”
Google’s measures highlight an alarming trend where bad actors shift their strategies beyond social media, echoing tactics previously observed among Russian and Iranian operatives.
As the digital battlefield expands, misinformation campaigns like Glassbridge proliferate, albeit China has not relinquished its older tactics of leveraging foreign influencers. Yet here lies a crucial differentiator: Google’s ongoing commitment to safeguarding editorial integrity by swiftly addressing such deceptive behaviours underscores a vigilant stance against a rising tide of disinformation, protecting the sanctity of truthful narratives.
