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Fake Twitter accounts impersonate Chinese media journalists overseas

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Fake Twitter accounts impersonate Chinese media journalists overseas

Likely by non-Chinese, linked actor(s)

Zichen Wang
Apr 16, 2021
6
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Fake Twitter accounts impersonate Chinese media journalists overseas

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This newsletter is a deviation from the traditional content of Pekingnology. Usual disclaimers apply.

I’m identifying four Twitter accounts that purport to represent Chinese media journalists but actually do not.

Three of them, with apparently real profile photos, purport to be based in Brussels, Belgium.

A

Twitter avatar for @LIUJun10228024
LIU Jun @LIUJun10228024
#journalist previously based in #Switzerland and currently in #Brussels, I am looking forward to speaking about #Chinese relations with #Europe and the #Covid19 crisis.
2:57 PM ∙ Feb 2, 2021

B

Twitter avatar for @WANGXia81005469
WANG Xiaojun @WANGXia81005469
#chinese journalist based in #Europe. I am joining Twitter as a new #challenge and a way to make more connection with #westernmedia. Looking forward to see what his is about and how twitter works.
2:31 PM ∙ Feb 2, 2021

C

Twitter avatar for @AoJun20
Ao Jun @AoJun20
As a #journalist it’s a pleasure to finally join Twitter. #Follow me to learn more about China and international relationship from a #Chinese point of view.
3:32 PM ∙ Feb 4, 2021

Another one, without a profile photo, purports to be based in New Delhi, India.

D

Twitter avatar for @HBofeng
HU Bofeng @HBofeng
As an accomplished journalist and a Twitter beginner. Let’s discuss about #China. #chinesejournalist #China #Asia relationship
3:43 PM ∙ Feb 4, 2021

I have been in direct contact with the three Chinese media journalists that A, B, and D purport to represent. All denied they are behind the accounts.

I have not been able to establish direct contact with the Chinese media journalist that C purports to represent. But an intermediary told me it’s highly unlikely that *this* Chinese media journalist would run a Twitter account and post frequently.

The problems I have identified with these four accounts include

Problem 1

Their use of Mandarin is inconsistent with people who grow up speaking Mandarin.

Twitter avatar for @LIUJun10228024
LIU Jun @LIUJun10228024
曾驻#瑞士的特派#记者,目前在#布鲁塞尔 。想要谈#中欧关系与 #新冠疫情的危机
3:00 PM ∙ Feb 2, 2021
Twitter avatar for @LIUJun10228024
LIU Jun @LIUJun10228024
#journalist previously based in #Switzerland and currently in #Brussels, I am looking forward to speaking about #Chinese relations with #Europe and the #Covid19 crisis.
2:57 PM ∙ Feb 2, 2021

These are A’s first two tweets. People who grow up speaking Mandarin don’t use “想要谈,” even if it’s a translation from “speaking about.”

Twitter avatar for @LIUJun10228024
LIU Jun @LIUJun10228024
如果西方国家跟中国实施同样的措施新冠大流行早就结束。西方国家采取的措施不但减少人民自由,而且无法消除病毒。中国所采取的措施反而有了具体的成果,并且老百姓支持维护卫生安全的那些手段。#冠状病毒 #新冠病毒 #新冠疫情 #新冠肺炎 #新冠状病毒 #新型冠状病毒
Twitter avatar for @Par1Ke
Sarhad Ke Paar @Par1Ke
#China rigged the investigation by #WHO into the #COVID outbreak. Peter Daszak, the WHO “expert” with huge conflicts of interests, was responsible for convincing fellow investigators that it wasn’t necessary to look into data wiped by #China https://t.co/kqILIAMOZ6
4:39 PM ∙ Mar 16, 2021

“大流行” is the translation of “pandemic,” which you always get using translation software. But for whatever reasons, the Mandarin-speaking world does not use “大流行.” Especially in the Chinese mainland, people use 疫情.

Also, the wording in the Mandarin # hashtags is unusual. The Chinese mainland does not use “冠状病毒” standalone to describe COVID, much less “新冠状病毒.”

Twitter avatar for @WANGXia81005469
WANG Xiaojun @WANGXia81005469
我是驻欧的中国记者,使用推特对我带来新的挑战和一个能够与西方媒体连接的有效平台。期待试一试跟操作推特的功能。
2:36 PM ∙ Feb 2, 2021
Twitter avatar for @WANGXia81005469
WANG Xiaojun @WANGXia81005469
#chinese journalist based in #Europe. I am joining Twitter as a new #challenge and a way to make more connection with #westernmedia. Looking forward to see what his is about and how twitter works.
2:31 PM ∙ Feb 2, 2021

These two tweets from B also have a Mandarin problem - “使用推特对我带来新的挑战和一个能够与西方媒体连接的有效平台” and “操作推特的功能” - the use of the language is not consistent with native speakers.

Twitter avatar for @WANGXia81005469
WANG Xiaojun @WANGXia81005469
To me this looks like another attempt to throw dirt on @ChineseEmbinUS @AmbCuiTiankai @Chinamission2un! @JingdongHua what do you think about it? 依我来看这又是针对 @ChineseEmbinUS 和 @Chinamission2un @JingdongHua 等账号的破坏稳定行动,你们怎么看?
5:16 PM ∙ Mar 18, 2021

Native speakers don’t use “破坏稳定行动” in this context, or probably anywhere else.

Twitter avatar for @AoJun20
Ao Jun @AoJun20
作为 #记者 能够加入推特感到很高兴。请跟随我了解中国在 #国际关系 问题上的立场
3:33 PM ∙ Feb 4, 2021
Twitter avatar for @AoJun20
Ao Jun @AoJun20
As a #journalist it’s a pleasure to finally join Twitter. #Follow me to learn more about China and international relationship from a #Chinese point of view.
3:32 PM ∙ Feb 4, 2021

These two tweets from C translates “follow” as “跟随,” which is what a dictionary or translation software will do. But native Mandarin speakers won’t do that. They will translate “follow” to “关注.”

Twitter avatar for @HBofeng
HU Bofeng @HBofeng
西方国家毫无根据地批评中国宁愿跟它学习。对中国成就的那种嫉妒心不但让西方国家付出巨大的代价,而且让它们的人民成为这种可笑政策的受害者。
Twitter avatar for @KenRoth
Kenneth Roth @KenRoth
In its quest to deny the people of China any possibility of communicating in private, the Chinese government appears to have blocked Signal, one of the last popular encrypted messaging apps that had been available. https://t.co/UCFOelAZ3z https://t.co/XdYwjtemNI
4:49 PM ∙ Mar 16, 2021

This tweet from D “西方国家毫无根据地批评中国宁愿跟它学习” does not make sense in Mandarin.

All of the language problems are not results of typos.

In summary, all four fake accounts have Mandarin problems, suggesting the person or people behind them are not native speakers.

Problem 2

They use way too many # hashtags. People from the Chinese mainland don’t. Other non-Chinese authentic Twitter accounts don’t as well.

Twitter avatar for @LIUJun10228024
LIU Jun @LIUJun10228024
Don't underestimate #China we will be ready for #2022 #olympicgames and we will reach herd #immunity and host an amazing #wintergame #冠状病毒 #新冠病毒 #新冠疫情 #新冠肺炎 #新冠状病毒 #新型冠状病毒
Twitter avatar for @GradyMcGregor
Grady McGregor @GradyMcGregor
CDC head George Gao estimates China won't reach herd immunity until at least mid-2022, which may create issues for its plans to host the 2022 winter olympics. But China is moving ahead w/ plans to create digital vaccine passports. https://t.co/SEYuYxFDqH
4:56 PM ∙ Mar 18, 2021
Twitter avatar for @WANGXia81005469
WANG Xiaojun @WANGXia81005469
#Antiasian #racism is a huge problem and so many #asian are victims of it. All this criticism and #hate against #China since the beginning of the #pandemic of #COVID19 is making it worst #冠状病毒 #新冠病毒 #新冠疫情 #新冠肺炎 #新冠状病毒 #新型冠状病毒
Twitter avatar for @CCCblogUoW
The Contemporary China Centre Blog @CCCblogUoW
important new podcast from 闹清楚 [nau̯ tɕʰiŋ ʈʂʰu] on Confronting COVID-19 Racism, bringing together activists from the Asian diaspora in the US, Australia and Europe to connect local struggles and discuss the possibility of transnational organizing. https://t.co/AqvWiZ2CaH
1:30 PM ∙ Apr 2, 2021
Twitter avatar for @AoJun20
Ao Jun @AoJun20
Political participation in the #US is no better during the last #presidential election #donaldtrump did his best to block votes from #minorities and blocked the funding to facilitate #mailballots so who is the bad one here? #中美关系 #国际关系 #国关 #政府 #ChinaUSrelations
Twitter avatar for @ChannelNewsAsia
CNA @ChannelNewsAsia
US condemns China moves to further reduce Hong Kong political participation https://t.co/vWVs5plFBF https://t.co/1173APm8T5
3:03 PM ∙ Apr 2, 2021
Twitter avatar for @AoJun20
Ao Jun @AoJun20
Of course why should we not. And it's a god way to not speak about hard facts and how the #USis falling miserably in fighting the #COVID19 #pandemic while #China is going back to normal #中美关系 #国际关系 #国关 #外交部 #政府 #贸易战 #ChinaUSrelations
Twitter avatar for @Reuters
Reuters @Reuters
White House urges for 'second stage' in WHO study of COVID-19 origins https://t.co/OJ2zhjNSch
4:14 PM ∙ Apr 1, 2021
Twitter avatar for @AoJun20
Ao Jun @AoJun20
History is a #bitch and now we can see how the #US never #recognised the #nativeamerican #genocide. Maybe if they want to show the #example they should start by making #amends instead of pointing finger at #China #中美关系 #国际关系 #国关 #外交部 #政府 #贸易战 #ChinaUSrelations
Twitter avatar for @MFA_China
Spokesperson发言人办公室 @MFA_China
The vicious accusations the US flings at Xinjiang reflect its past crimes. Just look at this Washington Post article which exposed how the US government persecuted Native Americans with lies, smallpox, etc. It’s time for US politicians to wake up from their “Truman Show”. https://t.co/O1P3o1mtcB
3:59 PM ∙ Apr 1, 2021
Twitter avatar for @HBofeng
HU Bofeng @HBofeng
#China is showing how we should have #international relashionship and how by unity we find #strenght #中美关系 #国际关系 #国关 Thank you @SpokespersonCHN for reminding us of this
Twitter avatar for @SpokespersonCHN
Hua Chunying 华春莹 @SpokespersonCHN
Unity is strength. This is what our African friends tell us when reviewing the past year of 2020 as China and Africa work side by side fighting against #COVID19. They talk in local languages and use proverbs to describe China-Africa friendship. https://t.co/uxxLjMfwu8
5:08 PM ∙ Mar 16, 2021
Twitter avatar for @HBofeng
HU Bofeng @HBofeng
If the #US wants to make amends to #Muslims they should not use #China as a scapegoat and try to spread #fakenews about the situation in #Xinjiang. It doesn't work that wait stop the #racism in your country instead of trying to accuse us of wrong doing #lies #uschina
Twitter avatar for @SpokespersonCHN
Hua Chunying 华春莹 @SpokespersonCHN
Remember what the #US & some of its allies did to #Iraq, #Syria & #Libya? Waged wars based on "evidence" which later proved to be false. The price is death & displacement of millions of #Muslims. Justice may be late, but will prevail in the end. https://t.co/aKkHpwsa5d
4:30 PM ∙ Mar 30, 2021
Twitter avatar for @HBofeng
HU Bofeng @HBofeng
It's so important to recognize our soldiers and the sacrifice they made for #China #中印战争 #中国 #印度 #中印冲突 #中印关系 #中印开战 #中印边境对峙 #中印边境冲突
4:23 PM ∙ Feb 19, 2021

Each of these four Twitter accounts routinely uses a usual number of # hashtags in almost every tweet. If you are on Twitter and follow people from the Chinese mainland, you would be probably aware that they don’t do that. In fact, in my observation, non-Chinese Twitter users don’t do that either.

According to Wikipedia,

a hashtag is a metadata tag that is prefaced by the hash symbol, #. Hashtags are widely used on microblogging and photo-sharing services such as Twitter and Instagram as a form of user-generated tagging that enables cross-referencing of content sharing a subject or theme.

Problem 3

They are linked.

i) They are linked by mutual followings.

D is followed by A and B

C is followed by B

B is followed by C and D

A is followed by D

ii) They “like” each others’ tweets.

A likes B

B likes A

A likes D

iii) B jumped to A’s defense.

Chen Weihua, the EU bureau chief of China Daily, first publicly identified A as a fake account on April 7.

Twitter avatar for @chenweihua
Chen Weihua (陈卫华) @chenweihua
@LIUJun10228024 Is this not a fake account? I know Mr Liu Jun never writes in English but French. So followers of this account must not be duped.
2:18 PM ∙ Apr 7, 2021
12Likes1Retweet

After that, I wrote a thread on April 10, confirming Chen’s finding

Twitter avatar for @ZichenWanghere
Zichen Wang @ZichenWanghere
I'm confirming @chenweihua 's finding that @LIUJun10228024 , who pretends to be a Brussels-based journalist with a Chinese newspaper, is a fake account. @chenweihua and I both know the real Liu. I think the person faking this is likely NOT from the Chinese mainland. A THREAD
Image
Image
12:23 PM ∙ Apr 10, 2021
102Likes30Retweets

and hinting there are other fake accounts beyond A. At the time, I already knew B was fake so I was putting out a bait - trying to explore how B would respond to the tweet, despite I never said publicly B was another fake.

Twitter avatar for @ZichenWanghere
Zichen Wang @ZichenWanghere
The questions I raised are just THEORIES. NOT conclusions. There is no definitive proof. But I think they are POSSIBLE, partly because @LIUJun10228024 is NOT the only fake account pretending to be Chinese journalists overseas. There are others, RIGHT NOW, on Twitter. ENDS
12:23 PM ∙ Apr 10, 2021
14Likes3Retweets

B took the bait and attacked me and Chen, defending A whose cover had been blown.

Twitter avatar for @WANGXia81005469
WANG Xiaojun @WANGXia81005469
This is so wrong @ZichenWanghere! My full support goes to @LIUJun10228024. Also shame on you @chenweihua!
Image
5:43 PM ∙ Apr 12, 2021

iv) A and B took a drastic turn in their tweets around the time Chen publicly identified (ONLY) A on April 7.

They largely posted what can be described as pro-Beijing tweets before that.

Twitter avatar for @LIUJun10228024
LIU Jun @LIUJun10228024
The same could be said for most European countries! #Muslims #Europe
Twitter avatar for @SpokespersonCHN
Hua Chunying 华春莹 @SpokespersonCHN
For most of the #Muslim people, the #UnitedStates is certainly not the safest country to live in.
4:47 PM ∙ Mar 30, 2021
Twitter avatar for @WANGXia81005469
WANG Xiaojun @WANGXia81005469
The Origin of #COVID19 is not a matter of discussion and #China knows it. We have to face this in order to stop the #antichina movement and set an example in the handling of this #pandemic #冠状病毒 #新冠病毒 #新冠疫情 #新冠肺炎 #新冠状病毒
Twitter avatar for @TheEconomist
The Economist @TheEconomist
China wants its citizens to believe that the virus originated elsewhere, even though scientists see scant evidence of that https://t.co/Wf58wsbXqW
2:51 PM ∙ Apr 6, 2021

After July 7, when Chen’s expose of (ONLY) A

Twitter avatar for @LIUJun10228024
LIU Jun @LIUJun10228024
Maybe #China should not be involved anymore and other countries should lead the research to find #COVID19 origins. I am starting to wonder what is #China's agenda when it comes to this?
Twitter avatar for @BT_India
Business Today @BT_India
Scientists demand probe into COVID-19 origins with or without China's involvement https://t.co/prl2BA4jVQ
1:26 PM ∙ Apr 10, 2021
Twitter avatar for @WANGXia81005469
WANG Xiaojun @WANGXia81005469
Maybe #China should rethink #Diplomacy and stop using #CovidVaccines as a bargaining chip. We are criticized for our aggressive diplomacy and should adjust in order to prevent more criticism and disdain Pandemics aren't diplomatic tools.
Twitter avatar for @SwarajyaMag
Swarajya @SwarajyaMag
#VaccineMaitri | The Chinese Communist Party wanted Paraguay to break ties with Taiwan in exchange for Covid-19 vaccines. Taiwan stood up to China. India stepped in to help. https://t.co/9oOHY9n53z
3:49 PM ∙ Apr 9, 2021

The tweets of D, which so far maintained its cover in public, also took a turn, but on a lesser observable scale.

C, which so far also maintained its cover in public, hasn’t tweeted after April 7 - its last tweet was on April 2.

***

One thing quite amusing to me is that, on March 19, B actually wrote a Twitter thread to reveal another account, @jingdongwbg, was faking @jingdonghua, which has a bluecheck.

Twitter avatar for @WANGXia81005469
WANG Xiaojun @WANGXia81005469
It seems like someone is using @JingdongHua's identity. Some things look really strange... Be careful! 好像有人在冒充华敬东 @JingdongHua 的身份。有些事情挺奇怪,请大家注意!⬇️
Image
Image
Image
Image
5:16 PM ∙ Mar 18, 2021
5Likes1Retweet

A retweeted B’s reveal

Twitter avatar for @LIUJun10228024
LIU Jun @LIUJun10228024
This is outrageous trying to use the good name of a #Chinese international representative for the #worldbank and the #UN. We should all fight agaisnt this type of behaviour. So spread the word #fake
Twitter avatar for @WANGXia81005469
WANG Xiaojun @WANGXia81005469
It seems like someone is using @JingdongHua's identity. Some things look really strange... Be careful! 好像有人在冒充华敬东 @JingdongHua 的身份。有些事情挺奇怪,请大家注意!⬇️ https://t.co/LdloI3gQTC
5:20 PM ∙ Mar 18, 2021

And A “likes” some tweets in this thread.

D “likes” every tweet in this thread.

***

To clarify, some of the Chinese media journalists the fake accounts purport to represent remain(s) overseas, but some of them have(has) returned to China. I’m not identifying their current location, for reasons including privacy and not feeding the impersonators.

Prior to Chen’s tweet on April 7, I had determined A, B, and C are fake accounts but decided against exposing them immediately. I wanted to find out what they were up to. In Direct Messages (DM) on Twitter, I had initiated and engaged in brief conversations with A and B to explore what they were up to.

I am now exposing them because:

1) Chen has already publicly exposed A;

2) B, who was not exposed at the time, took my bait, revealed his support of A, and effectively blown his own cover (at least to me);

3) my patience has run out.

I only found out about D two days ago, first through its “likes” of B’s thread.

I have many questions about the fake accounts, and I’m almost sure you do as well. So I’ll leave them to you. (End)

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Fake Twitter accounts impersonate Chinese media journalists overseas

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