Google has blocked a huge network of pro-China propaganda news websites

Date:
Mon, 25 Nov 2024 14:02:00 +0000

Description:
The Glassbridge network has been blocked by Google for spreading Chinese
propaganda in search results.

FULL STORY

Googles Threat Intelligence Group has revealed it has blocked over 1,000 
sites belonging to a small number of PR firms that spread pro-China 
propaganda through inauthentic news sites. 

The sites posed as local news networks, even publishing authentic localized
content alongside state sponsored press releases to deceive readers. 

The network, dubbed Glassbridge, was made up of four companies who
bulk-created and operated hundreds of domains which posed as independent news
sites. These sites published content which emphasizes narratives aligned to
the political interests of the Peoples Republic of China, said Google.

A new kind of influence campaign

The Glassbridge network used private PR firms to gain plausible deniability
and obscured their role in the spreading of coordinated misinformation. The
sites violated Googles policies which prohibit deceptive behavior and require
editorial transparency, and will no longer appear in Google News Features and
Google Discover. 

The four firms, Shanghai Haixun Technology, Times Newswire, Durinbridge, and
Shenzhen Bowen media. The most prolific, Shanghai Haixun Technology, was 
found to be operating over 600 policy-violating domains, all of which have
since been removed. 

By posing as independent, and often local news outlets, IO (information
operations) actors are able to tailor their content to specific regional
audiences and present their narratives as seemingly legitimate news and
editorial content, said Vanessa Molter. 

Google believes this is an evolution of previously observed mass produced
social media disinformation campaigns , which have targeted western states 
and US voters in particular, aiming to spread discourse and divide public
opinion. 

Most of us can spot the social media bot accounts with relative ease, and 
most bots generate very little authentic engagement, which highlights the
difficulties states like China, Russia, and Iran have had in producing
convincing political content through social media. 

Whilst its unlikely that foreign actors will abandon social media campaigns,
its clear that new tactics are being adopted to try and sew distrust in
western political systems and spread favorable narratives for Beijing.

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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/google-has-blocked-a-huge-network-of-pr
o-china-propaganda-news-websites

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