Donald Trump reportedly authorized the CIA to conduct a social media smear campaign against the Chinese government during his presidency.As Reuters reports, the campaign had CIA operatives create social media accounts on various Chinese websites to spread narratives that the Chinese government is corrupt while criticizing government decisions, in a bid to stir up paranoia among Chinese government officials. Two former officials told Reuters that they wanted the Chinese government to expend resources chasing intrusions into the Great Firewall of China. "We wanted them chasing ghosts," they said.According to officials, some of the narratives included members of the Communist Party hiding ill-gotten money overseas and calling China's Belt and Road Initiative corrupt and wasteful. Reuters says that US officials declined to comment on the specifics of the operation but do maintain that these narratives are based on facts "despite being secretly released by intelligence operatives under false cover."The covert campaign allegedly took place in areas outside of China as well, including Southeast Asia, Africa, and the South Pacific—where the US and China battle for influence. According to reports, China was already using bribery and threats to gain support. During this time, the US was also dealing with Russian and Chinese cyberattacks against American organizations. "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 tells Reuters. A spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs tells Reuters that the US government uses the "public opinion space and media platforms as weapons to spread false information and manipulate international public opinion." The ministry claims it "does not interfere in the domestic affairs of the United States."The US intelligence community released its annual threat assessment last month which contradicts China's sentiments. The 40-page document outlines China's use of generative AI during the 2022 midterms to target candidates from both political parties and how it may do so again during the 2024 US Presidential election. Spokespeople for Trump, his former national security advisors, and the CIA declined to comment.

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