A recent report from Citizen Lab, a digital watchdog at Canada’s University of Toronto, reveals that at least 123 Chinese websites are masquerading as local news outlets in 30 countries to spread pro-Beijing disinformation.
A senior researcher at Citizen Lab dubbed the campaign “Paperwall,” describing it as “a large, and fast-growing, network of anonymous websites posing as local news outlets.” Allegedly, the campaign targeted 30 countries including the United States, South Korea, Japan, Russia, the UK, France, Brazil, Turkey, and Italy.
To camouflage themselves as authentic local news sources, Paperwall websites often incorporate local references into their names.
According to the report, the sole website aiming at the U.S. audience was UpdateNews.Info, a domain registered in July 2019, and the first ever registered Paperwall website.
Citizen Lab researchers indicated that the campaign's impact has been “negligible to date,” citing “minimal traffic” to the websites and the absence of social media amplification or noticeable mainstream media coverage.
Nonetheless, the report cautioned against dismissing the campaign as harmless, noting that it could yield significant dividends once any of its fragments are picked up and validated by mainstream press or political figures.
