In a time where information spreads faster than wildfires, it's alarming to observe how China's so-called cyber samurais brazenly manipulate narratives, attempting to tarnish India's image on social media. Under different guises, these online mercenaries, often scarcely monitored, portray India as an unbridled aggressor in the Himalayan region, a ruthless regime in New Delhi, and an intimidating force against more vulnerable neighbors, like Nepal and Pakistan.

The meticulous investigation by the New Delhi-based fact-checking portal, www.dfrac.org, has exposed this cyber onslaught. Since 2021, the portal has shed light on China's unrestrained efforts to spread misinformation against India. Their findings have revealed a disturbing reality: not only are the Chinese omnipresent across major social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but they also leap at every chance to spread falsehoods and anti-India propaganda. To make matters worse, many of these channels, according to dfrac.com, have direct affiliations with the Communist Party of China (CPC), implying that these are not mere rogue operations.

Take, for instance, the "South Asia Index", a supposedly neutral platform focusing on South Asia's diverse domains, from politics and defense to climate change. Yet, even a brief perusal of its content glaringly reveals its true intent. Almost every other post takes a jab at India, demonizing figures like Prime Minister Narendra Modi or propagating fallacies about the Indian military's actions in Kashmir. They audaciously promote the idea of China's governance system as the world's preferred choice, sidestepping the nation's numerous human rights violations.

The cunning strategy adopted by platforms like South Asia Index involves circulating fake news, ensuring it gains traction in specific online communities. One particularly egregious instance involved a false report claiming that 99 children in Indonesia had died after consuming an Indian-manufactured syrup. This baseless claim quickly became viral in Southeast Asian digital circles until vigilant fact-checkers from dfrac.com debunked it.

Yet another instance of China's relentless propaganda warfare came to light when a picture of the Dalai Lama, playfully interacting with a child, was twisted and weaponized. The Chinese online brigade seized this chance to defame both the revered Tibetan leader and India, launching aggressive campaigns worldwide, labeling the Dalai Lama with heinous allegations.

China's sprawling network of propaganda is omnipresent, evident in accounts like Nin Sun (@NinSiv4) who claims to be located in Paris, or @BattlementLK which likely operates out of Sri Lanka. These accounts don't just push forward China's narrative but delve deep into historical events, attempting to paint India as an inherently aggressive civilization. A recent tweet from the latter took a sly dig at the BJP, juxtaposing its easy membership process against the rigorous procedures of the CPC.

The magnitude of China's propaganda machine isn't confined to the cyber realm. An explosive revelation by the New York Times unveiled a network run by an Indian-origin American magnate who, acting as China's pawn, aids in peddling its narratives and even financially supports media establishments in the heart of New Delhi.

This clandestine war, where information is the weapon and perception the battleground, calls for global vigilance. The world must recognize and condemn China's attempts to distort narratives and undermine the truth.

China's Stranglehold on Social Media: The Disquieting Power of Propaganda

The underbelly of global social media platforms is under siege. Recent revelations have illuminated China's audacious efforts to manipulate and exploit these platforms to sculpt international opinion. This alarming trend, brought to light by an extensive seven-month investigation by the Oxford Internet Institute (OII), reveals China's heavy reliance on fake Twitter accounts to amplify its propagandistic narratives.

The OII, in collaboration with the Associated Press, conducted a comprehensive audit, unveiling the sheer magnitude of activity by Chinese diplomats and state media outlets on platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. Startlingly, of all the diplomat accounts on Twitter, a mere 14% were flagged by the platform as state-controlled. As Marcel Schliebs from OII aptly highlighted, "The PRC (People's Republic of China) is aggressively leveraging its diplomats to bolster the propaganda machinery."

Adding to the irony, while the Chinese government leverages these platforms to influence international viewpoints, these very social media networks are off-limits to its own citizenry. A poignant observation from the study indicates that about half of all retweets of PRC diplomats emanate from an exceedingly active 1% of amplifiers.

Digging deep into the data, Oxford researchers scrutinized every piece of content churned out by Chinese diplomats and major state-controlled media entities from June 2020 to February 2021. Their findings? A staggering 201,382 tweets from 189 diplomatic accounts, which collectively garnered close to seven million likes, 1.3 million retweets, and a million comments. A significant chunk of these interactions, worryingly, originated from accounts that Twitter later suspended for policy violations.

Furthermore, despite platforms like Twitter and Facebook aiming to label official accounts for enhanced transparency, the research paints a different picture. Only a paltry 14% of Chinese diplomatic accounts bore clear governmental labels.

Supporting this narrative, The Epoch Times highlighted another research effort focusing on the Twitter activities of Liu Xiaoming, the former Chinese ambassador to the UK, and the Chinese Embassy in London. Astonishingly, a coordinated network of 62 accounts was primarily responsible for echoing the content of these two prominent accounts. Notably, a whopping 60 of these accounts were suspended by Twitter, primarily for manipulation attempts.

Beyond Twitter, the Chinese government's formidable presence spans multiple platforms. An astounding 176 accounts across Twitter and Facebook, representing state-controlled Chinese media, generated over 700,000 posts. These posts attracted an enormous 355 million likes, further amplified by 27 million comments and shares.

Highlighting the essence and implications of this investigation, Professor Philip N. Howard emphasized the urgency to recognize the scale of PRC's global campaign. As he succinctly put it, "Only by comprehending the depth of PRC's propaganda strategy, can we truly craft effective countermeasures."

China's intrusion into global social media spheres, as evidenced by these findings, underscores the need for heightened vigilance. Policymakers and platform creators alike must jointly counteract these tactics to protect the integrity of global information flow.