当资深美国外交官库尔特·坎贝尔(Kurt Campbell)访问所罗门群岛以遏制中国在南太平洋国家的影响时，他迅速意识到，北京为了传播其信息所做的努力是何等深远。2022年某天早上，他从当地媒体上读到了一篇长篇报道，声称美国在乌克兰设有化学和生物实验室，华盛顿方面则坚称这是彻头彻尾的谎言。这一假新闻始于俄罗斯，并被中国庞大的海外宣传机器极力推波助澜。
坎贝尔向参议院外交关系委员会透露，这不过是“明显有效的俄中误导”的又一个案例。
两年后，该指控在互联网上仍持续发酵，充分显示了中国的广泛努力，旨在重塑全球对特定议题的认知。每年投入数十亿美元的宣传活动，在人工智能的帮助下日益精妙。华盛顿的情报分析师与政策制定者密切关注着这些可能影响11月选举或损害美国利益的行为，并誓言进行反击。
关键策略是建立伪装成合法新闻机构的网络，发布支持中国的报道，内容往往紧跟北京的官方声明和立场。
香农·范桑(Shannon Van Sant)担任香港自由基金会顾问，她追踪到一个由数十个冒充新闻机构网站构成的网络。其中一个站点采用了与《纽约时报》相似的字体和设计，企图营造出权威性的假象，但实际上是传递高度亲中国的信息。在深入研究该网站记者的真实身份后，发现没有提供任何相关信息。他们的名字与中国现有记者不匹配，照片也显示出是通过人工智能生成的特征。
“媒体操控本质上是对读者和社会的误导，这对民主造成损害。”范桑说。
中国驻美大使发言人刘鹏宇表示，针对中国利用新闻网站和社交媒体传播亲北京信息及影响美国舆论的说法，“充满了对中国的恶意猜测，中国政府坚决反对”。
除了官方媒体外，中国政府还转向了国内外实体以传达讯息，旨在为中共构建正面的叙事，让后者在国际社会中获得更多认可。加州大学伯克利分校信息系统系研究员肖强(Xiao Qiang)指出，北京的方法多样，且与政府的关系往往难以证实。不管是带有美国口音的名字还是印度网红，其一贯的亲中共立场揭示了真相。
网络安全公司Logically识别到1200个网站发布了来自俄中官方媒体的故事。这些站点针对特定受众，并具有听起来像传统新闻机构或已停产报纸名称的特点。
与俄罗斯和伊朗相比，在美国总统竞选中展现出明确偏好的国家，北京则更为谨慎且专注于传播中国正面内容。尽管这些网站并非由中国政府所有，但它们发布的是中国的资讯内容。Logically在对与美国大选相关的内容进行分析时发现，其中约20%可以追溯至俄中官方媒体。
“这些文章可能会影响美国受众而他们甚至不知道消息的来源。”Logically高级策略分析师亚历克斯·尼尔森(Alex Nelson)说。
根据盖洛普全球民意调查，受访国家对美国的态度整体呈现积极趋势。然而，同时持有对中国和美国负面看法的国家数量相较于15年前有所上升，这表明美国在全球影响力赛中并未取得显著优势。
一些美国官员希望增加投入以平衡竞争。众议院已通过一项法案，授权从2027年起每年拨款3.25亿美元用于对抗中国的全球影响力扩张及其虚假新闻活动。该提案还需参议院的批准。
“要在全球影响力的博弈中获胜，不能仅依靠普通预算进行投入。”纽约州民主党议员格雷戈里·梅克斯(Rep. Gregory Meeks)说道。
中国国家主席习近平要求构建全面的叙事体系，让中国的国际声音与其实力地位相称。中国政府投资新华社、央视等国有媒体，并通过不同语言和平台向全球传播信息。当地层面的传媒集团正在建设“国际沟通中心”，在海外建立网站、新闻频道及社交媒体账号以扩大影响力。
北京在全球新兴技术竞赛中投入资源，尤其是在电动汽车、半导体芯片、人工智能和量子计算等领域，旨在确保领先优势。这些科技领域的领导地位将带来长期的竞争优势。
为了讲述自己的故事，中国政府不畏采用假身份。国务院2023年的一份报告显示，一个名为伊帆(Yi Fan)的出版作家起初被描述为中国外交部分析师，在经历角色转换后成为记者和独立研究者。尽管个人资料发生变化，但信息传递的方式保持一致。通过发表评论、撰写文章等方式，伊帆强调中国与非洲的关系密切、赞扬中国政府在环境可持续性方面采取的措施，并为反驳西方歪曲叙事而发声。
还有被称为威尔逊·爱德华斯(Wilson Edwards)的虚构瑞士病毒学家，在中国媒体上作为COVID-19专家出现。然而，瑞士官方查证后发现他并不存在。“如果我们能见到您就好了！”北京的瑞士大使馆在社交媒体上写道。
美国国会众议院通过了一项法案，授权每年拨款3.25亿美元至2027年用于抗衡中国全球影响力的扩张以及其误导性活动。此提案仍需参议院批准。
“要在与中国的全球影响力竞争中取胜，必须要有能够与我们的国际地位相匹配的预算。”
新闻来源：www.abcnews.go.com
原文地址：In global game of influence, China turns to a cheap and effective tool: fake news
新闻日期：2024-09-28
原文摘要：
When veteran U.S. diplomat Kurt Campbell traveled to the Solomon Islands to counter Beijing's influence in the South Pacific country, he quickly saw just how far China would go to spread its message. The Biden administration’s Asia czar woke up one morning in 2022 to a long article in the local press about the U.S. running chemical and biological labs in Ukraine, a claim that Washington calls an outright lie. Started by Russia, the false and incendiary claim was vigorously amplified by China's vast overseas propaganda apparatus. It was another example of “clearly effective Russian and Chinese disinformation," Campbell told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in July. Two years later, the claim still reverberates online, demonstrating China's sprawling effort to reshape global perceptions. The campaign, costing many billions per year, is becoming ever more sophisticated thanks to artificial intelligence. China's operations have caught the attention of intelligence analysts and policymakers in Washington, who vow to combat any actions that could influence the November election or undermine American interests. The key tactic: networks of websites purporting to be legitimate news outlets, delivering pro-China coverage that often parallels official statements and positions from Beijing. Shannon Van Sant, an adviser to the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, tracked a network of dozens of sites that posed as news organizations. One site mimicked The New York Times, using a similar font and design in what she called an attempt at legitimacy. The site carried strongly pro-Chinese messages. When Van Sant researched the site's reporters she found no information. Their names didn't belong to any known journalists working in China, and their photos bore telltale signs of being created with AI. “Manipulation of the media is ultimately a manipulation of readers and the audience, and this is damaging to democracy and society,” Van Sant said. Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the U.S., said allegations that China uses news websites and social media to spread pro-Beijing information and influence public opinion in the U.S. “are full of malicious speculations against China, which China firmly opposes.” In addition to its state media, Beijing has turned to foreign players — real or not — to relay messages and lend credibility to narratives favoring the Communist Party, said Xiao Qiang, a research scientist at the School of Information at the University of California, Berkeley. Xiao also is editor-in-chief of China Digital Times, a bilingual news website that aggregates information from and about China. Beijing's methods are wide-ranging and links to the government are often difficult to prove, Xiao said. But whether it's journalists with American-sounding names or an Indian influencer, the consistently pro-Beijing messages give them away. "The implicit message is the same — that the Chinese Communist Party works for its people,” Xiao said. Analysts at the cybersecurity firm Logically identified 1,200 websites that had carried Russian or Chinese state media stories. The sites often target specific audiences and have names that sound like traditional news organizations or defunct newspapers. Unlike Russia or Iran, which have displayed clear preferences in the U.S. presidential campaign, Beijing is more cautious and focused on spreading positive content about China. While the sites aren't owned by China, they run Chinese content. When Logically looked at content specifically about the U.S. election, 20% could be traced back to Chinese or Russian state media. “There's a decent likelihood that these articles could influence U.S. audiences without them even knowing where it comes from,” said Alex Nelson, Logically's senior manager for strategy and analysis. According to the Gallup World Poll, more countries surveyed view the U.S. positively, but the share of countries where views of both the U.S. and China are negative overall is higher than 15 years ago, signaling the U.S. doesn’t appear to be making gains over China. Some U.S. officials want to increase spending to even the playing field. The House of Representatives this month approved a bill that would authorize $325 million annually through 2027 to counter China’s global influence, including its disinformation campaigns. The measure still needs Senate approval. “We are in a global competition for influence with China, and if you want to win it, then you cannot do it on a middle-power budget,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks, a Democrat from New York. Chinese President Xi Jinping has demanded a systematic buildup of Chinese narratives that would give his country a global voice “commensurate with” its international stature. Beijing has invested in state media such as the Xinhua news agency and China Central Television to convey its messages to global audiences in various languages and platforms. Media groups at the local level are creating “international communication centers” to build an overseas presence with websites, news channels and social media accounts. Beijing also has struck media partnerships worldwide, and the article Campbell read in the Solomon Islands is likely a result of those. China’s outreach is tied to the global race for economic dominance in electric vehicles, computer chips, AI and quantum computing, said Jaret Riddick, a senior fellow at Georgetown University's Center for Security and Emerging Technology. “The countries that lead on emerging technologies will be the countries that have a great advantage going forward,” Riddick said. To tell its story, Beijing has not shied away from using fake personas. A 2023 State Department report detailed the case of a published writer named Yi Fan, originally described as a Chinese foreign ministry analyst. Yi morphed into a journalist, then became an independent analyst. Yi's details changed, but the message did not. Through published commentaries and writings, Yi trumpeted close ties between China and Africa, praised Beijing’s approach to environmental sustainability and argued that China must counter distorted Western narratives. Then there was Wilson Edwards, a supposed Swiss virologist quoted in Chinese media as a COVID-19 expert who criticized the U.S. response. But Swiss officials found no evidence he existed. “If you exist, we would like to meet you!” the Swiss Embassy in Beijing wrote on social media. ___ AP writer Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux contributed from Washington.
