{"id":1533421,"date":"2022-06-30T10:34:07","date_gmt":"2022-06-30T14:34:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1533421"},"modified":"2022-06-30T10:34:28","modified_gmt":"2022-06-30T14:34:28","slug":"chinese-secret-agents-spread-fear-on-fake-social-media-accounts-to-target-texas-mining-project-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chinese-secret-agents-spread-fear-on-fake-social-media-accounts-to-target-texas-mining-project-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese Secret Agents Spread Fear On Fake Social Media Accounts To Target Texas Mining Project: Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fchinese-secret-agents-spread-fear-on-fake-social-media-accounts-to-target-texas-mining-project-report%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1533421&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/topic\/china\">Chinese<\/a> secret agents tried to stop a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/topic\/texas\">Texas<\/a> rare earth minerals mining project by posing as concerned Lone State state residents, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/topic\/pentagon\">Pentagon<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Beijing-directed operation allegedly targeted Lynas Rare Earth and other mining firms in a bid to derail the supply chain in the United States. Chinese agents used thousands of phony social media accounts to whip up opposition to the project, the cybersecurity firm Mandiant, which the Department of Defense <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defense.gov\/News\/Releases\/Release\/Article\/3077280\/reports-of-disinformation-campaign-against-rare-earth-processing-facilities\/\">praised<\/a> for bringing the operation to light, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mandiant.com\/resources\/dragonbridge-targets-rare-earths-mining-companies\">wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe campaign used inauthentic social media and forum accounts, including those posing as residents in Texas to feign concern over environmental and health issues surrounding the plant,\u201d wrote Mandiant.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Fascinating. Pro-Chinese agents posed as concerned local residents on social media to try and spark protests over the opening of rare earth mines in the US and Canada, a report found <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tiSVuW6AdR\">https:\/\/t.co\/tiSVuW6AdR<\/a> via <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bpolitics?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@bpolitics<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Henry Sanderson (@hjesanderson) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hjesanderson\/status\/1542061650550849536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 29, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Mandiant, which uncovered the failed scheme, dubbed the Chinese operation \u201cDragonbridge.\u201d Australia-based Lynas, the largest rare earth mining company in the world, has a $30 million defense contract to build a facility in Texas, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-usa-rareearths\/pentagon-awards-30-million-in-rare-earths-funding-to-australias-lynas-idUSKBN2A135Y\">according<\/a> to Reuters. The Chinese agents allegedly used the fake Twitter and Facebook accounts to spread unfounded fears of environmental damage and radiation they claimed could cause cancer, gene mutation, and newborn deformities.<\/p>\n<p>Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the U.S., called the accusations slander.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChina is one of the biggest victims of disinformation,\u201d Liu <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2022\/jun\/29\/china-targeted-pentagon-rare-earth-contractor-disi\/\">told<\/a> The Washington Times. \u201cChina always opposes the creation and dissemination of disinformation. There are some people and forces in the world who are keen to fabricate rumors, slander and discredit China.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>China has long sought to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/china-moves-to-extend-global-dominance-in-mining-processing-key-resources\">control<\/a> the global market for rare earth minerals, which are needed for manufacturing fighter jets, submarines, smartphones, televisions, electric vehicles, medical equipment, and other high-tech products.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-403310\" class=\"wp-image-403310 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-30-at-8.49.28-AM-1024x457.png\" alt=\"The Pentagon said Chinese agents sought to block a Texas rare earth materials project\" width=\"1024\" height=\"457\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-30-at-8.49.28-AM-1024x457-1.png 1024w, https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-30-at-8.49.28-AM-300x134.png 300w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-30-at-8.49.28-AM-768x343-1.png 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Screen-Shot-2022-06-30-at-8.49.28-AM.png 1080w\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-403310\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Chinese agents allegedly used fake social media accounts to amplify opposition to the mining project. (Mandiant)<\/p>\n<p>The Pentagon is trying to bolster U.S. production of the materials, and signed the deal with Lynas as part of the effort. The company claims the Texas operation could produce enough rare earth minerals to cover a quarter of the world\u2019s demand, per Reuters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">Mandiant said \u201cDragonbridge\u201d was also behind fake accounts aimed at stopping a project in Saskatchewan by Canadian mining company Appia Rare Earths &#038; Uranium and an Oklahoma project by USA Rare Earth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoD appreciates the diligence of Mandiant in identifying this disinformation campaign, and will continue to work with our partners to provide accurate information related to this and other supply chain investments,\u201d the Pentagon said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chinese secret agents tried to stop a Texas rare earth minerals mining project by posing as concerned Lone State state residents, according to the Pentagon. The Beijing-directed operation allegedly targeted Lynas Rare Earth and other mining firms in a bid to derail the supply chain in the United States. Chinese agents used thousands of phony &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":729,"featured_media":1898533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1533421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1533421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/729"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1533421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1533421\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1898533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1533421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1533421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1533421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}