- Then-President Donald Trump authorized a CIA influence campaign on China, Reuters reported.
- The CIA used fake social media accounts to push unfavorable narratives about the Chinese government.
- An ex-official said that the campaign was meant to stir up the Chinese leadership's paranoia.
Then-President Donald Trump authorized a CIA operation to discredit the Chinese government on social media while he was in office, Reuters reported on Thursday.
The CIA began the operation in 2019, creating fake Chinese social media accounts to push narratives that would discredit the Chinese government, Reuters reported, citing three former officials it spoke to.
The narratives ranged from accusations of corruption among Chinese Communist Party members to the decadence of Chinese leader Xi Jinping's landmark Belt and Road Initiative, the ex-officials told Reuters.
The former officials told Reuters the campaign was meant to stir up Chinese leadership's paranoia over a possible infiltration of the Chinese internet.
"We wanted them chasing ghosts," said one of the officials.
Representatives for the CIA and Trump declined to comment to Reuters on the program.
A representative for the Chinese foreign ministry told Reuters the report shows how "public opinion space and media platforms" have been used by the US government "as weapons to spread false information and manipulate international public opinion."
The US has previously accused countries like Russia and China of mounting influence operations against it.
On Monday, the US intelligence community released its annual threat assessment report, which said China could try to influence the 2024 elections.
China's propaganda arm, the 40-page report said, had "increased their capabilities to conduct covert influence operations and disseminate information." The report said Chinese propaganda actors had used TikTok accounts to target candidates from the GOP and Democratic Party during the 2022 midterm elections.
"Even if Beijing sets limits on these activities, individuals not under its direct supervision may attempt election influence activities they perceive are in line with Beijing's goals," the report said.
Representatives for Trump, the CIA, and the Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.