- A pro-China propaganda group ran a social media campaign targeting rare earths mining companies.
- The group used fake accounts posing as Texas residents opposed to a new rare earths plant.
- The campaign was designed to"thwart rivalry" to China's dominance in the sector, according tech group Mandiant.
A pro-China propaganda group ran a campaign on social media targeting US-based rare earths mining companies in an attempt to undermine the growing industry in the country, according to the cybersecurity company Mandiant.
Mandiant said the group known as Dragonbridge used fake social media accounts to push "negative messaging" on the companies across Facebook and Twitter, including posts which claimed that one facility would create health and environmental problems for local residents.
The campaign specifically targeted the mining companies to "thwart rivalry" to China's dominance in the sector, Mandiant added.
China has previously enjoyed market dominance in processing rare earth metals used in the production of defense and aircraft machinery, the report said, but the US has started creating more infrastructure for producing the minerals locally.
Last year, the US Department of Defense announced an agreement with Lynas Rare Earths Ltd, the largest rare earth mining company outside of China, to create a facility in Texas.
The agreement was partly intended to "transition defense supply chains to non-Chinese sources of rare earth element magnets," according to the US Department of Defense.
Mandiant said the propaganda campaigners used the fake accounts — including accounts pretending to be local residents — to claim that the Texas plant would expose residents to radioactive contamination and would create unrepairable environmental damage.
The accounts posted in groups which were more inclined to respond to the messaging, the report added.
One message, posted under the name Cox Teri but which Mandiant linked to Dragonbridge said: "My friends and I have been resisting the construction of a rare earth processing plant in Texas by Lynas. If nothing is done, Lynas's waste discharge will directly or indirectly affect the health of local residents, and this pollution is irreversible," the Financial Times reported.
Mandiant said it was highly confident that the accounts it identified across social media platforms were linked to Dragonbridge.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute think tank, as well as a cyber policy expert, confirmed the report's findings to the Financial Times.
Lynas Rare Earths Ltd and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.