[DECODED] China’s familiar language of provocation

You might have noticed the very public word war between the Chinese embassy in Manila and Philippine officials. The official Facebook page of the Chinese embassy has suddenly become so aggressive in making combative public statements targeting Filipino officials.

In a January 23 post, the embassy accused Senator Risa Hontiveros of “instigating anti China sentiments in the Philippines” and that it was “all for [her] political self interests.” In another post, it said that the Philippines “should feel fortunate to have a neighbor like China,” amid global tensions in Ukraine, Venezuela, and Gaza.

Notice, also, how the embassy often says that it has no choice but to “respond” to provocations.

For those who have tracked online influence operations, however, the language will sound familiar. We at The Nerve have seen similar talking points with the same tone and voice being pushed by troll armies and informal coordinated networks for years.

In a previous report, our head of data Don Kevin Hapal wrote about how the Chinese embassy allegedly hired InfinitUs Marketing Solutions in 2023 to launch an army of trolls and “keyboard warriors” to defend China on social media.

READ: China’s troll army: From teachers to riders, all fake

The internal documents showed that among the objectives of InfinitUs’ entire campaign was to “help change the overall negative perception of Filipinos about the Chinese and China” and to “inculcate to Filipinos that China and the Chinese people is a big part of our growing economy and our culture.”

For example, the internal onboarding documents of InfinitUs showed a line from a long list of scripts: “The Philippine government should not have passed these laws because they very well know that it will intensify our conflict with China and other Asian neighbors.” The documents showed that this particular line was implemented back in November 2024, after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the Philippine Maritime Zones Act and the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act.

These talking points that position China as a victim of provocation and the Philippines as an aggravator in the region are aligned with the narratives tracked and documented by Rappler and The Nerve in previous studies. In one report, we outlined how Chinese state media used its assets to target Philippine officials by accusing them of “double standards” that are against China and favorable toward the US.

READ: [DECODED] How Chinese state-owned Media Unlocked targets AFP, DND

The internal documents also showed that InfinitUs allegedly instructed its army of trolls to spread pro-China commentaries as early as October 2023. This month, the script focused on Japan and its release of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima plant into the Pacific Ocean, which started in August that year.

“Before you criticize China, please stop contaminating our oceans and waters with toxic, radioactive wastes from Fukushima!” a line from the script read. “You have no right to criticize China when you yourself don’t know right from wrong! You are just a puppet and mouthpiece of America.”

We have observed these narratives in an earlier study on pro-China narratives on social media, conducted using Probe, The Nerve’s forensic solutions for content analysis using natural language processing. Around 1.5% of China-related posts from May to September 2023 called Japan “selfish” and highlighted its foreign relations with “Western allies” that are perceived as threats to China.

Topic map of public Facebook posts from identified pro-China propaganda actors, from May to September 2023

What all of this tells us is that the playbook has always been there, it’s just that we’re now seeing the attack lines brazenly coming from the official source. So when the embassy says that it is merely responding to accusations, as it often does on its Facebook page, records indicate otherwise — that the narrative had already been set in motion. – Rappler.com

The Nerve is a data forensics company that enables changemakers to navigate real-world trends and issues through narrative and network investigations. Taking the best of human and machine, we enable partners to unlock powerful insights that shape informed decisions. Composed of a team of data scientists, strategists, award-winning storytellers, and designers, the company is on a mission to deliver data with real-world impact.