The Australian strategic policy institute published a report about + pro-Chinese Communist Party users on social media that are trying to influence the Quad Partnership of Australia, India, Japan, and the US. The pro-CCP accounts oppose the deployment of missile units in southern Okinawa Prefecture.
- Researchers at ASPI's International Cyber Policy Centre have discovered 80 accounts, across Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and YouTube, that have posted in multiple languages opposing Japan's military activities.
- These accounts are poorly operated and share links to Chinese state media.
Japan positioned missiles on Ishigaki Island to defend contested islands in the west, and to counter Chinese military capabilities.
- A group of pro-CCP accounts tried to undermine the bilateral relationship by posting photos of atomic bomb mushroom clouds over Hiroshima and Nagasaki and by criticizing the Quad diplomatic partnership.
- Some accounts amplified petitions in Ishigaki to stop the construction of missile bases and others protested against the use of private ports on Ishigaki by the Japan Self-Defense Forces.
- This emerging reiteration of the Spamouflage network is being used by the Chinese government to influence the opinion of Japanese citizens in the US.
- These types of networks can be useful for gaining insights into the CCP's broader political and psychological warfare strategies.