The U.S. Department of Defense ran a secret psychological operation on social media for over a year, aimed at undermining Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccines and medical supplies. Utilizing fake accounts, it questioned the efficacy and religious permissibility of China's vaccines across multiple countries. While some U.S. officials objected, the controversial campaign continued through both Trump and Biden administrations before ending in mid-2021.
#ChineseVaccine #Covid19 #Covid19Vaccine #Sinovac #Covaxin #Covishield #ChinavsUS #Pentagon #Indianews #Worldnews #Oneindia #Oneindianews
~PR.320~ED.102~HT.318~GR.121~
#ChineseVaccine #Covid19 #Covid19Vaccine #Sinovac #Covaxin #Covishield #ChinavsUS #Pentagon #Indianews #Worldnews #Oneindia #Oneindianews
~PR.320~ED.102~HT.318~GR.121~
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00The vaccine war between US and China was real. US ran a psychological campaign against the
00:07Chinese vaccine. Viral report on Pentagon's role in undermining
00:13the vaccine of China. The United States Department of Defense allegedly
00:17ran a psychological operation across the social media platforms with the aim of undermining
00:22confidence in the Chinese-manufactured COVID-19 vaccines.
00:26This controversial campaign spanned over a year, continuing in both the presidency of
00:32Trump and Biden administrations despite objections from some US government officials.
00:37According to an investigation by the Reuters news agency, the operation initially targeted
00:41Philippines in spring 2020 when the country was heavily reliant on the CoronaVac vaccine
00:47produced by the Chinese company Sinovac Biotech. The vaccine had been approved for use by the
00:53World Health Organization. However, the Pentagon attempted to discredit the efficacy of the
00:59Chinese vaccine in order to sabotage relations between China and the Philippines.
01:04This is according to the report. Over the time, the effort evolved into a broader
01:10anti-vaccine campaign that raised doubt about the quality of Chinese COVID-19 test kits,
01:15face masks and other medical supplies too. This psychological operation utilized hundreds
01:20of fake social media accounts across multiple platforms, promoting the hashtag ChinaVirus,
01:26which means China is the virus in Tagalog. Social media posts argued that the coronavirus
01:32originated in China and the Chinese-made medical supplies could not be trusted.
01:38By early 2021, the campaign had expanded to the Middle East and Central Asia too. Some
01:44posts falsely claimed that Sinovac vaccine contains pork gelatin, suggesting that Muslims
01:50must not take it as it violates the Islamic law. These tactics raised concern from officials
01:56at the U.S. State Department who objected to meeting with the Pentagon.
02:00Greg Treburton, a former chairman of the National Intelligence Council, which aligns intelligence
02:05work with government policies, stated that getting as much as vaccine in people's arms
02:10as possible would have served U.S. national interest better.
02:14He said that Pentagon's secret operation crossed a line, while a senior Pentagon official
02:19acknowledged a psychological operation that was launched to disparage China's vaccine
02:24in the developing world. They declined to provide further details.
02:29The controversial campaign was ultimately terminated in June 2021.
02:34The revelation highlights how the geopolitical rivalry and tensions between the U.S. and
02:38China spilled over to public health efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, as per this
02:43report. Rather than promoting widespread vaccination, the Pentagon allegedly prioritized
02:49undermining the Chinese vaccine in a COVID-19 operation and influence across social media.