122 Hong Kong Protests and the Rise of Online Influence Operations

Recent protests in Hong Kong have highlighted a growing trend in online influence operations, in this case from mainland China. Officials there have been using Western social media platforms to influence public perception of the Hong Kong protests. Those social media platforms have, in turn, shut down accounts they’ve determined are posting what they call “inauthentic content.”  Researchers in Recorded Future’s Insikt Group have been analyzing these attempts at online influence operations and have published a report titled “Chinese State Media Seeks to Influence International Perceptions of Hong Kong Protests.” Priscilla Moriuchi is head of nation-state research at Recorded Future, and she joins us to share their findings.