Google has blocked a vast network of pro-China propaganda news websites
- Google’s crackdown identifies four PR firms infiltrating search results
- ‘Glassbridge’ companies spread Chinese propaganda
- Google has removed 1,000 domains from its network
Google’s Threat Intelligence Group has done just that revealed it has blocked more than 1,000 sites owned by a small number of PR firms spreading pro-China propaganda through inauthentic news sites.
The sites posed as local news networks and even published authentic localized content alongside state-sponsored press releases to mislead readers.
The network, called ‘Glassbridge’, consisted of four companies that bulk created and operated hundreds of domains posing as independent news sites. These sites published content that “emphasizes stories that align with the political interests of the People’s Republic of China,” Google said.
A new kind of influence campaign
The Glassbridge Network used private PR firms to obtain plausible deniability and obscured their role in the spread of coordinated disinformation. The sites have violated Google’s policies, which prohibit deceptive conduct and require editorial transparency, and will no longer appear in Google News features and Google Discover.
The four companies, Shanghai Haixun Technology, Times Newswire, Durinbridge and Shenzhen Bowen Media. The most prolific, Shanghai Haixun Technology, was found to be operating over 600 policy-violating domains, all of which have since been removed.
“By posing as independent, and often local, news outlets, IO (information operations) actors can tailor their content to specific regional audiences and present their stories as ostensibly legitimate news and editorial content,” said Vanessa Molter.
Google believes this is an evolution of previously observed mass-produced disinformation campaigns on social media, which have primarily targeted Western states and American voters, with the aim of spreading discourse and dividing public opinion.
Most of us can spot social media ‘bot’ accounts with relative ease, and most bots generate very little authentic engagement, highlighting the difficulties that states like China, Russia and Iran have had in producing persuasive political content through social media.
While it is unlikely that foreign actors will abandon social media campaigns, it is clear that new tactics are being adopted to sow distrust in Western political systems and spread favorable narratives for Beijing.