The Chinese government has built up the world’s largest known online disinformation operation and is using it to harass US residents, politicians, and businesses—at times threatening its targets with violence, a CNN review of court documents and public disclosures by social media companies has found.

The onslaught of attacks – often of a vile and deeply personal nature – is part of a well-organized, increasingly brazen Chinese government intimidation campaign targeting people in the United States, documents show.

The US State Department says the tactics are part of a broader multi-billion-dollar effort to shape the world’s information environment and silence critics of Beijing that has expanded under President Xi Jinping. On Wednesday, President Biden is due to meet Xi at a summit in San Francisco.

Victims face a barrage of tens of thousands of social media posts that call them traitors, dogs, and racist and homophobic slurs. They say it’s all part of an effort to drive them into a state of constant fear and paranoia.

  • @HakFoo@lemmy.sdf.org
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    41 year ago

    In a single-party state, I’d expect the actual debate occurs inside the framework of the party. You’ve still got different viewpoints and factions, but they’re not directly campaigning for votes. That might encourage more work towards consensus, because it’s not an every-four-years winner-take-all battle for control.

    The fetish for electoral democracy runs the risk of confusing means for ends. Democracy is one way to deliver good governance, but is it the only one? Is it the best one for all situations?

    • @SCB@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Democracy is one way to deliver good governance, but is it the only one? Is it the best one for all situations?

      Liberal Democracy is the only acceptable form of government.

      Also please note you’re harping for the CCP (a one-party state) in a fucking thread about how people online are targeted with CCP propaganda.

      • I hesitate to say it’s the only acceptable form, but it’s the best one I’ve seen so far. I like Churchill’s quote here:

        Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time…

        It’s possible someone will come up with a better form of government, and perhaps that already exists on paper. However, Communism/socialism ain’t it, at least not the one party form used today.