Wary Europe welcomes China鈥檚 help 鈥� but not its disinformation
| BRUSSELS
In the video, strains of China鈥檚 national anthem swell as Italians under coronavirus quarantine offer raucous, emotional bravos from their balconies. They鈥檙e chanting 鈥淕razie, China!鈥� the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman wrote as he tweeted out the clip.
But the production was a ham-fisted fake, analysts say: the Italians were cheering local health care workers, not saying 鈥淭hanks, China.鈥�
The video is part of a growing disinformation campaign within the European Union that, in contrast to allegations against the Kremlin, can be easily linked to the Chinese government.
Why We Wrote This
Disinformation campaigns are a growing concern in the West. And while Russia has sometimes been made out as a major source of such activity, evidence suggests that China is actually the more active threat.
Although the production values are questionable and the claims are handily disproven, the disinformation push has spurred European Union officials to warn member states to be on alert. In particular, they say, the campaign could force member states dependent on Chinese economic ties to weigh the costs and benefits of calling out Beijing鈥檚 misbehavior as the financial damage of the coronavirus lockdown compounds. NATO for its part says the problem 鈥渋s high on our agenda,鈥� and warns that it is an effort to 鈥渟ow division and undermine our democracies.鈥�
Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service,聽all our coronavirus coverage聽is free. No paywall.
Yet China鈥檚 disinformation campaign offers opportunities, too. Because some of the fabrications have been 鈥渟o extreme, so offensive, and so obvious,鈥� the matter is now firmly on the European radar as a problem. The EU for the first time has begun 鈥渢o identify and expose this kind of manipulation,鈥� even if the bloc鈥檚 response to Beijing is currently tempered by financial considerations, says Antoine Bondaz, research fellow at the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris.
鈥淐onspiracy narratives and disinformation鈥澛�
Perhaps no case exemplifies this more than the Chinese Embassy in Paris publishing an article on its website leveling false charges 鈥� made by a Chinese diplomat 鈥� that French nursing-home workers had abandoned their posts amid the pandemic, 鈥渓eaving their residents to die of starvation and illness.鈥�
The article was amplified by dubious Twitter accounts expressing outrage at, among other things, the failure of the French government and the tragic plight of the French elderly. Most of these accounts had been created in the past couple of weeks, with 鈥渘o followers at all, being re-tweeted and liked by the Chinese embassy鈥� 鈥� sure signs of bot farms, Mr. Bondaz says.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian last month took the striking step of summoning China鈥檚 ambassador to express his displeasure with the disinformation effort. Just days later, the EU鈥檚 diplomatic service released a report charging Russia and 鈥渢o a lesser extent, China鈥� with disseminating 鈥渃onspiracy narratives and disinformation.鈥�
Taken at face value, all this seemed to put China on notice. But the pushback against China has been tempered.
Mr. Le Drian, in his response to the Chinese ambassador, emphasized good bilateral relations between France and China overall. 鈥淚n the face of the virus and its consequences on our economies, there is no place for controversy,鈥� he said.
And the published EU report on disinformation was less critical of China than earlier internal drafts, according to EU officials who voiced their concerns in news reports that the EU was engaging in 鈥渟elf-censorship.鈥� While an early draft warned of a 鈥渃ontinued and coordinated push by official Chinese sources to deflect any blame鈥� for the coronavirus pandemic, for example, the published version noted a 鈥渃ontinued and coordinated push by some actors, including Chinese sources, to deflect any blame鈥� 鈥� stopping just short of linking the behavior directly to Beijing.
Still, while 鈥渕aybe people would have wanted the report to hit harder, it testifies to a shift in thinking by the EU 鈥� it鈥檚 a sea change really 鈥� and also a realization that a lot of propaganda is raining down on us from authoritarian states,鈥� says Fran莽ois Godement, senior advisor for Asia at the Institut Montaigne in Paris.
Managing the messaging
This is particularly important as some European nations warm to China and even sour on their bloc partners. A recent poll found 52% of Italians feel China is a friendly government and 36% want a 鈥渟tronger future relationship鈥� with it. By way of contrast, 45% of those surveyed say Germany is an 鈥渆nemy country,鈥� and 38% say the same of France. Polls found similar pro-China feelings in Spain, which has historically been one of the most pro-EU countries.
This endearment toward China stems from its aid efforts: Italy was short on face masks, and China donated 200,000 of them. And negativity toward other EU nations is the result of dissatisfaction with the bloc鈥檚 response to the pandemic, coupled in part with lingering resentments around 2008 austerity measures.
鈥淲e had face masks bought from the EU, and free masks from China,鈥� said Lia Quartapelle, a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, in a briefing organized by the Atlantic Council鈥檚 Digital Forensic Research Lab.
But that鈥檚 an incomplete picture, and underscores what the EU needs to do to counter the Chinese narrative. For example, Ms. Quartapelle noted that Germany donated even more masks to Italy, and NATO and the EU have come through with millions of euros in supplies and aid. 鈥淭he fact that strategically we didn鈥檛 think about how to thank fellow EU members for help received was a problem.鈥� In a later interview, she told the Monitor that such symbolism is important in a country 鈥渢hat鈥檚 confused, afraid, saddened by the crisis.鈥�
Beijing knows this, and pushes hard for such symbols 鈥� particularly since it鈥檚 the first time China has come to European aid. Being seen as benevolent is better for business than being tagged as a producer of shoddy goods 鈥� or as the point of origin for the virus.
The problems come, analysts warn, when the lingering economic effects of the pandemic make EU member states more vulnerable to Chinese threats of both the veiled and unveiled variety. While Beijing 鈥減rofesses great respect鈥� for the EU, it 鈥済oes through every bilateral channel it can adopt鈥� in order to divide and conquer, Mr. Godement says, since China鈥檚 goal of strengthening its economic partnerships is often best accomplished by fighting EU cohesion.
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell warned this month that up until recently, Europe has been 鈥渁 little naive鈥� in its relationship with Beijing. While China is an economic partner, it is also a 鈥漵ystemic rival that seeks to promote an alternative model of governance.鈥�
Who鈥檚 the target?
At the same time, much of the disinformation put out by China has up until recently been intended chiefly for internal consumption. The point is to please higher-ups back in Beijing, who have made it clear they want their ambassadors to push back aggressively on narratives that portray China as a coronavirus culprit 鈥� or in any negative light.
Accordingly, their credo tends to be that a good offense is the best defense. When the Chinese ambassador insulted France for letting its citizens die of hunger, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think he expected to be believed,鈥� Mr. Godement says. Instead, he and other ambassadors want 鈥渢o be able to tell their supreme leader that they just walked the extra mile for the boss.鈥�
Yet the backlash to this aggression has curbed the goodwill that was a goal of China鈥檚 鈥渕ask diplomacy.鈥� And so while the Chinese diplomats continue to be 鈥渧ery offensive鈥� in their approach, they also appear to be learning from their mistakes, Mr. Bondaz says.
鈥淐hinese officials are fully aware that one of their main problems is how to reconcile internal versus external propaganda,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey see now that to insult and criticize isn鈥檛 enough. In the EU, they have to convince 鈥� or at least add convincing to the criticizing and insulting part.鈥�
To this end, the Chinese embassy recently posted a list of 鈥�16 fake news statements鈥� that purports to identify untrue stories in the EU press. In terms of creating a more subtle disinformation campaign, 鈥渋t鈥檚 actually quite well done,鈥� Mr. Bondaz says. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e trying to do the 鈥榝act-checking鈥� stuff鈥� with a mix of 鈥済ood sources鈥� and conspiracy web sites. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not stupid. They鈥檙e trying to improve.鈥�
As they do, the EU needs to take a page from the playbook of those who have long grappled with Chinese disinformation, analysts say. Taiwanese officials, for example, advise responding in less than 60 minutes to spurious charges made by China. They have also found that, 鈥淲hen you try to argue in an academic way, it doesn鈥檛 always work.鈥� So Taiwan has hired comedians to push out quick-witted responses to particularly outlandish Chinese statements, which often go viral, Mr. Bondaz says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 鈥榟umor over rumor.鈥欌��
The point, analysts add, is to call out the bad behavior. 鈥淥ur friends in Asia warned us, 鈥榊ou only see the head of the bear, and not the head of the dragon,鈥欌�� Mr. Bondaz says, referring to Russian and Chinese exploits. 鈥淏ut more and more, we see both.鈥�
Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service,聽all our coronavirus coverage聽is free. No paywall.
