Pentagon's Covert Campaign: Undermining China's Sinovac Vaccine During COVID-19

[Social Media]

 

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a secretive and controversial operation by the U.S. military aimed to counteract China's growing influence in the Philippines and beyond. A Reuters investigation has revealed that the Pentagon launched a clandestine campaign to discredit China's Sinovac vaccine and other aid, leveraging phony internet accounts and sowing doubt about the safety and efficacy of Chinese-supplied medical supplies.

 

The operation, which has not been previously reported, targeted the Filipino public with anti-vaccine propaganda. Fake social media accounts, designed to impersonate Filipinos, spread messages denouncing the quality of Chinese face masks, test kits, and vaccines. One notable slogan, #Chinaangvirus (Tagalog for "China is the virus"), was central to these efforts. Posts on social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) decried Chinese products and emphasized distrust towards China. One such tweet from July 2020 stated, “COVID came from China and the VACCINE also came from China, don’t trust China!” alongside a photo of a syringe next to a Chinese flag and a graph showing rising infections. Another post read, “From China – PPE, Face Mask, Vaccine: FAKE. But the Coronavirus is real.”

 

Reuters identified at least 300 such accounts on X, almost all created in the summer of 2020, as part of a coordinated bot campaign. These accounts were removed by the social media company after Reuters' inquiries, which determined their involvement in spreading disinformation based on activity patterns and internal data.

 

The anti-vax campaign, initiated in the spring of 2020, expanded beyond Southeast Asia, reaching into Central Asia and the Middle East. The Pentagon tailored its propaganda to local audiences, attempting to stoke fears among Muslims that China’s vaccines could be forbidden under Islamic law due to the presence of pork gelatin. This narrative was particularly insidious given the deadly toll the virus was taking worldwide.

 

The campaign, which spanned the end of President Donald Trump’s term and continued months into President Joe Biden’s administration, eventually faced significant pushback. Social media companies, alarmed by the Pentagon's actions, warned the Biden administration, leading to an edict in spring 2021 to cease the anti-vax effort. The Pentagon then initiated an internal review of the program.

 

The U.S. military's use of propaganda is not new, but the COVID-19 campaign has drawn significant criticism from health experts and former officials. Daniel Lucey, an infectious disease specialist at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine, condemned the campaign, saying, “I don’t think it’s defensible. I’m extremely dismayed, disappointed and disillusioned to hear that the U.S. government would do that.” He added that the operation risked undermining public trust in government health initiatives, including U.S.-made vaccines.

 

Public health experts fear that campaigns like this one can have lasting negative impacts. Greg Treverton, former chairman of the U.S. National Intelligence Council, noted, “It should have been in our interest to get as much vaccine in people’s arms as possible. What the Pentagon did crosses a line.” Similarly, Dr. Nina Castillo-Carandang, a former adviser to the World Health Organization and the Philippine government, expressed outrage, saying, “Why did you do it when people were dying? We were desperate.”

 

The Philippines was particularly vulnerable during the pandemic, with widespread skepticism toward vaccinations exacerbated by past controversies. Lulu Bravo, executive director of the Philippine Foundation for Vaccination, highlighted the pre-existing public concerns following the rollout of a Dengue fever vaccine in 2016. She noted that the Pentagon’s campaign preyed on these fears, deepening mistrust and contributing to low vaccination rates.

 

 

Former Filipino health secretary Esperanza Cabral lamented the potential impact of the U.S. operation on the Philippines' COVID-19 death toll. “I’m sure that there are lots of people who died from COVID who did not need to die from COVID,” she said.

 

Despite objections from top U.S. diplomats in Southeast Asia, the Pentagon's campaign went ahead, driven by a directive signed by then-Secretary of Defense Mark Esper in 2019. This order allowed military commanders to bypass State Department approval when conducting psychological operations against adversaries, elevating such efforts to the priority of active combat.

 

In spring 2020, Special Operations Command Pacific, under General Jonathan Braga, spearheaded the propaganda campaign from Tampa, Florida. The campaign intensified fears about Chinese vaccines containing pork gelatin, targeting Muslim-majority regions. An April 2021 tweet from a military-controlled account exemplified this strategy: “Can you trust China, which tries to hide that its vaccine contains pork gelatin and distributes it in Central Asia and other Muslim countries where many people consider such a drug haram?”

 

 

Social media companies, including Facebook, became increasingly concerned about the military's activities. Facebook executives warned the Pentagon about violating the platform's policies with fake accounts and COVID misinformation. Despite promises to stop spreading such propaganda, the campaign continued into 2021, prompting the Biden administration to order its termination.

 

An internal Pentagon review in late 2021 uncovered the full extent of the anti-vax operation. The review found that the military's primary contractor, General Dynamics IT, had employed inadequate measures to conceal the origin of the fake accounts. The Pentagon has since revised its policies, mandating closer collaboration with U.S. diplomats for psychological operations and restricting broad population messaging.

 

However, the Pentagon's clandestine propaganda efforts are set to continue. A recent strategy document indicated that the U.S. military could use disinformation to undermine adversaries like China and Russia. In February, General Dynamics IT, the contractor involved in the anti-vax campaign, was awarded a $493 million contract to continue providing clandestine influence services for the military.

 

The Pentagon's secret anti-vax campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the complexities and ethical challenges of modern psychological operations. While aimed at countering Chinese influence, the campaign's potential to undermine global health efforts and public trust has sparked significant debate and criticism. As the world continues to grapple with the pandemic's aftermath, the lessons from this covert operation highlight the need for careful consideration of the broader impacts of such strategies.

 

Credit: Reuters 2024-06-15

 

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[johng]

4 minutes ago, Social Media said:

the Pentagon launched a clandestine campaign to discredit China's Sinovac vaccine and other aid, leveraging phony internet accounts and sowing doubt about the safety and efficacy of Chinese-supplied medical supplies.

 Conspiracy theory !!!!   the noble,benevolent hero's at the Pentagon would never dream of such a scheme !!!     sue those  Alex Jones's ermmm I mean Chinamen for 100 bizzilion dollars !

[candide]

22 minutes ago, johng said:

 Conspiracy theory !!!!   the noble,benevolent hero's at the Pentagon would never dream of such a scheme !!!     sue those  Alex Jones's ermmm I mean Chinamen for 100 bizzilion dollars !

Who was the Commander in Chief when it started (Trump) and who stopped it (the Biden administration)?

😀

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The Pentagon's disinformation campaign above notwithstanding, there was SOME truth to the claims being made, particularly as to the often substandard quality or simply counterfeit COVID PPE originating from China, and to China's Sinovac vaccine being less effective (though not harmful or fake as claimed, AFAIK) compared to its mRNA counterparts developed in the West:

 

Countries reject China pandemic product batches

The Netherlands, Spain and Turkey question quality of face masks and tests

 

March 30 2020

 

Several countries in or neighbouring the EU have rejected Chinese-made coronavirus testing kits and protective equipment as substandard, raising concerns about the quality of supplies.

 

The Netherlands, Spain and Turkey have all claimed there have been problems with products including masks and tests, as rising confirmed cases of Covid-19 infection in Europe increase dependence on Chinese imports.

 

(more)

 

https://archive.ph/L0opY

 

or

 

https://www.ft.com/content/f3435779-a706-45c7-a7e2-43efbdd7777b

 

AND

 

Chinese Covid-19 vaccine far less effective than initially claimed in Brazil, sparking concerns

January 14, 2021

 

(CNN ) — A leading Chinese Covid-19 vaccine developed by Sinovac Biotech was just 50.38% effective in late-stage trials in Brazil, significantly lower than earlier results showed, according to a statement published by the government of Sao Paulo Tuesday.

 

While the number exceeds the threshold required for regulatory approval, it falls far below the 78% previously announced, raising questions as to the veracity of the data and fueling skepticism over the apparent lack of transparency regarding Chinese vaccines.

...

The results suggest Coronavac [the brand name for Sinovac's vaccine] is less effective than alternative vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which have an efficacy rate of about 95%.

 

(more)

 

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/13/asia/sinovac-covid-vaccine-efficacy-intl-hnk/index.html

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

And more:

Counterfeit Covid Masks Are Still Sold Everywhere, Despite Misleading Claims

Rising Covid cases have spurred a return to mask-wearing in the U.S. and overseas, at a time when flawed KN95s from China continue to dominate e-commerce sites.

 

Updated Dec. 1, 2021

...

"Consumers who try to purchase N95 masks, mainly on Amazon, are often led to vendors selling fake or poorly made KN95s, a Chinese-made mask that is often marketed as an N95 equivalent despite the lack of testing by U.S. regulators to confirm virus-filtering claims.

 

In fact, KN95 masks offered on Amazon and through other retailers are being sold without authorization for use in health care settings from the Food and Drug Administration, which last July revoked its emergency use authorization for imported masks that lack approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — a category that includes all KN95s from China.

 

They include brands like Boncare, which is produced by a company that has repeatedly failed federal testing standards; Yotu, whose manufacturer has also failed European Union testing; and ChiSip, an Amazon top seller whose manufacturer, Chengde Technology, was cited by the C.D.C. for falsely claiming approval by federal regulators.

 

(more)

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/30/health/covid-masks-counterfeit-fake.html

 

AND

China seizes over 89 million shoddy face masks

Issued on: 26/04/2020

 

Beijing (AFP) – China has confiscated over 89 million poor quality face masks, a government official said Sunday, as Beijing faces a slew of complaints about faulty protective gear exported worldwide.

 

Demand for protective equipment has soared as nations across the globe battle the deadly coronavirus, which has infected nearly 2.9 million people.

 

But a number of countries have complained about faulty masks and other products exported by China, mostly for use by medical workers and vulnerable groups.

 

(more)

 

https://www.france24.com/en/20200426-china-seizes-over-89-million-shoddy-face-masks

 

 

Edited June 16 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[candide]

It's funny how MAGA posters have avoided this thread after they understood it happened under Trump! 😃

[Gweiloman]

And yet, the Philippines still places its trust in America. Oh well, som na na. Evolution, survival of the fittest, all that stuff.

[placeholder]

On 6/15/2024 at 7:51 PM, johng said:

 Conspiracy theory !!!!   the noble,benevolent hero's at the Pentagon would never dream of such a scheme !!!     sue those  Alex Jones's ermmm I mean Chinamen for 100 bizzilion dollars !

And big media was in on it. Lucky that a small Independent non-woke Media source like Reuters managed to expose it

[stats]

A post with unsourced and unsubstantiated claims has been removed, along with an ensuing reply.

 

Per the forum's rules:

 

"In factual areas such as news forums and current affairs topics member content that is claimed or portrayed as a fact should be supported by a link to a relevant reputable source."

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

32 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

And yet, the Philippines still places its trust in America. Oh well, som na na. Evolution, survival of the fittest, all that stuff.

 

I'd call your attention to this post from earlier in this thread...  The U.S. was wrong in what they did with this disinformation campaign, but undoubtedly still were correct in a lot of what they said (though they went too far/over the top in trying to discredit China's less effective Sinovac COVID vacccine.

 

 

 

 

[Stocky]

26 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

I'd call your attention to this post from earlier in this thread...  The U.S. was wrong in what they did with this disinformation campaign, but undoubtedly still were correct in a lot of what they said (though they went too far/over the top in trying to discredit China's less effective Sinovac COVID vacccine.

They were flat out lying with the pork gelatine story, that wasn't over the top it was totally malicious, and undoubtedly caused many more deaths. As for the issue of efficacy, certainly the studies show the Chinese vaccines were less effective at preventing infection, but the studies also show that they still reduced the risk of dying from the disease. The Chinese vaccines proved effective at reducing mortality.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 minutes ago, Stocky said:

They were flat out lying with the pork gelatine story, that wasn't over the top it was totally malicious, and undoubtedly caused many more deaths. As for the issue of efficacy, certainly the studies show the Chinese vaccines were less effective at preventing infection, but the studies also show that they still reduced the risk of dying from the disease. The Chinese vaccines proved effective at reducing mortality.

 

I agree. I said several times here that the U.S. went too far and strayed into non-factual claims in several respects. But their comments also were correct about the often substandard quality or outright counterfeit versions of Chinese PPE, and that Sinovac was in fact less effective  against COVID than the West's mRNA vaccines.

 

[Gweiloman]

3 hours ago, Stocky said:

They were flat out lying with the pork gelatine story, that wasn't over the top it was totally malicious, and undoubtedly caused many more deaths. As for the issue of efficacy, certainly the studies show the Chinese vaccines were less effective at preventing infection, but the studies also show that they still reduced the risk of dying from the disease. The Chinese vaccines proved effective at reducing mortality.

I don’t know if Sinovac was any more or less effective than the western produced vaccines but neither my wife nor I contracted Covid after being vaccinated with Sinovac. We did not social distance, we lived as normal, going out shopping, eating etc. 

 

I know that both my daughters in the UK contracted covid more than once, in spite of being vaccinated.

[Gweiloman]

3 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

I'd call your attention to this post from earlier in this thread...  The U.S. was wrong in what they did with this disinformation campaign, but undoubtedly still were correct in a lot of what they said (though they went too far/over the top in trying to discredit China's less effective Sinovac COVID vacccine.

 

 

 

 

Whatever. The fact remains that there are segments of the US government that continuously spread lies and misinformation about all manner of things, all over the world. To me, the US has zero credibility and is not to be trusted in the slightest. It’s a good thing that most of the rest of the world has come to the same conclusion.

 

I feel sorry for the average decent American.