Chinese Exile Writer Faces Online Attacks

Deng Yuwen, a well-known Chinese writer currently living in exile near Philadelphia, has been a vocal critic of China and its leader, Xi Jinping. Recently, China has launched a harsh response with crude and personally targeted attacks online.

A covert propaganda network linked to China’s security services has bombarded not only Mr. Deng but also his teenage daughter with sexually suggestive and threatening posts on popular social media platforms. Research conducted by Clemson University and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has revealed this alarming situation.

The malicious content, posted by users using fake identities, has been seen in responses to Mr. Deng’s posts on X, a social platform, as well as on the accounts of local public schools. On these platforms, Mr. Deng’s 16-year-old daughter has been falsely depicted as a drug user, arsonist, and prostitute.

“I attempted to remove these posts,” said Mr. Deng in a Mandarin Chinese interview regarding the online attacks, “but my efforts were futile, as they quickly reappeared using new accounts to continue the harassment.”

Additionally, vulgar comments targeting the teenager have surfaced on community pages on Facebook, TripAdvisor, Patch (a community news platform), and Niche (a school selection website), as identified by the researchers.

This online harassment is part of a larger pattern of intimidation that has raised concerns in Washington, Canada, and other nations, where China’s aggressive tactics have become more brazen. The researchers have traced thousands of these posts to a network of social media accounts known as Spamouflage or Dragonbridge, which is connected to China’s extensive propaganda machinery.