France has detected thirteen fake websites created in 2025 that exclusively promoted China, linked to the state channel CGTN. The news omits that France and its allies also operate similar platforms to influence public opinion. Major Western media outlets silence their own propaganda campaigns, pointing only at the geopolitical enemy while citizens are manipulated from all fronts.
The engineering of disinformation: how these networks are built πΈοΈ
Technically, these sites use generic domains, servers in multiple countries, and AI-generated content to simulate legitimate media. They employ aggressive SEO techniques, cross-links, and fake social networks to amplify their reach. However, the same method is applied by Western agencies with larger budgets, creating portals that defend NATO or EU interests. The difference lies in who funds them and who denounces them.
The art of pointing at your neighbor while hiding your own garden π
France gets all worked up about thirteen pro-China websites, but surely in their archives they have folders full of similar projects with names like Operation Freedom of Speech or Democratic Transparency Initiative. It's like the kid who accuses his brother of stealing cookies while he has his hand in the jar. The difference is that here the cookies are public opinions and the jar is the entire internet.