Filipino influencers, troll farms tapped for pro-China narratives — study

MANILA, Philippines — The Chinese government is recruiting Filipino social media influencers and troll farms to push polished narratives that favor Beijing, according to a recently published study, with as many as 10,000 fake accounts found to be spreading pro-China narratives.

But besides the flood of pro-Chinese content on social media, the Chinese government is also relying on a more covert form of propaganda: local news reports that minimize Beijing's role in flawed infrastructure projects while shifting blame onto local leaders. 

These were the findings of a September 6 report by research group AidData, which examined Beijing's direct and indirect messaging efforts to cast itself as an attractive economic partner for investments in the Philippines. 

For years, China has remained as the Philippines' top trading partner, but public opinion has turned solidly against the powerful nation amid more frequent maritime clashes between the two countries in the South China Sea. More than three out of every four Filipinos identify China as the greatest threat to the country, according to an OCTA survey conducted in March and released in June.  

"China is not engaging in all these media cooperation and development finance [projects] in a vacuum. It's happening alongside very visible disputes in the South China Sea," Samantha Custer, director at AidData, said on Wednesday, September 11.

Two-pronged strategy. China's social media messaging aim to deflect criticism of its actions in the region by portraying such criticism as mere propaganda by the United States, according to the 51-page AidData study.

Amid its efforts to expand its presence on social media platforms, the Chinese government is also trying to promote the narrative that "discussing, let alone debating, the South China Sea could lead to conflict with the [People's Republic of China], implying that the Philippines is powerless," according to the study.

"PRC state-run or state-influenced media outlets have accounts on most social media channels to amplify their digital content," the AidData study said. 

"Less direct is the proliferation of online troll farms and other fake accounts that the PRC can use to