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China harvests masses of data on Western targets, documents show
WaPo ^ | 31 December 2021 | Cate Cadell

Posted on 12/31/2021 9:35:49 PM PST by blueplum

China is turning a major part of its internal Internet data surveillance network outward, mining Western social media, including Facebook and Twitter, to equip its government agencies, military and police with information on foreign targets, according to a Washington Post review of hundreds of Chinese bidding documents, contracts and company filings....

...The software primarily targets China’s domestic Internet users and media, but a Washington Post review of bidding documents and contracts for over 300 Chinese government projects since the beginning of 2020 include orders for software designed to collect data on foreign targets from sources such as Twitter, Facebook and other Western social media....

....The purchases range in size from small, automated programs to projects costing hundreds of thousands of dollars that are staffed 24 hours a day by teams including English speakers and foreign policy specialists.

The documents describe highly customizable programs that can collect real-time social media data from individual social media users. Some describe tracking broad trends on issues including U.S. elections.

The Post was not able to review data collected by the systems but spoke to four people based in Beijing who are directly involved in government public opinion analysis and described separate software systems that automatically collect and store Facebook and Twitter data in real time on domestic Chinese servers for analysis....

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: china; cyberwar; datamining; nationalsecurity
do tell, WaPo...
1 posted on 12/31/2021 9:35:49 PM PST by blueplum
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To: blueplum

So they use bots to google target businesses?


2 posted on 12/31/2021 9:41:31 PM PST by Raycpa
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To: blueplum

China has a smart leader who loves his country.

We don’t have a leader and, in his few lucid moments, he intentionally tries to destroy the country.

And neither party gives a crap and tries to impeach him.

Let’s go Brandon.


3 posted on 12/31/2021 9:47:14 PM PST by 353FMG
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To: 353FMG
> China has a smart leader who loves his country.

The same can also be said of Russia.

But as you wrote, not of America.

4 posted on 12/31/2021 9:59:41 PM PST by dayglored ("Listen. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.")
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To: 353FMG
China has a smart leader who loves his country.

Well, only if you think stomping on the face of your people with a boot--forever--is "loving" them. With this logic, Pinhead from Hellraiser loves everybody a lot in his torture dimension.

5 posted on 12/31/2021 10:05:35 PM PST by Greetings_Puny_Humans (I mostly come out at night... mostly.)
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To: Raycpa

They can buy the data through front companies.

It’s not like Goog, FB and others are finished monetizing their customer base.


6 posted on 12/31/2021 10:29:56 PM PST by texas booster (Join FreeRepublic's Folding@Home team (Team # 36120) Cure Alzheimer's!)
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To: blueplum
"but spoke to four people based in Beijing who are"

now in prison. No need to mention the location of these informants, but the press cannot be help responsible for the consequences of reporting such regardless...

7 posted on 01/01/2022 4:41:10 AM PST by daniel1212 ( Turn to the Lord Jesus as a damned+destitute sinner, trust Him to save + be baptized + follow Him!)
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To: 353FMG
"China has a smart leader who loves his country."

Really? How can you confuse love of power with love of country, and is was love for God and country that separates this lustful tyrant from so many veterans who actually fought the likes of this Chinese lost villain.

8 posted on 01/01/2022 4:44:39 AM PST by daniel1212 ( Turn to the Lord Jesus as a damned+destitute sinner, trust Him to save + be baptized + follow Him!)
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To: daniel1212

I think the main idea is that Xi wants China to prosper. The foggy brained turd Biden wants us poor. The difference is clear.


9 posted on 01/01/2022 7:51:13 AM PST by wac3rd (Somewhere in Hell, Ted Kennedy snickers....)
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To: daniel1212

What do you think of a “leader” who keeps the borders open for all kinds of rif-raf to enter, who stole an election for “love” of country, who left Americans stranded in Afghanistan, who is steering this country toward a recession, and who hangs on to power in between the few lucid moments that he has. What do you think our leader has — love of power or love of country? But we’re no commies, huh? No, we call them RATs in this country.
Get a reality check.


10 posted on 01/01/2022 9:44:25 AM PST by 353FMG
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To: blueplum

Fang Fang chuckles and winks.


11 posted on 01/01/2022 10:01:13 AM PST by Vaduz ( )
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To: blueplum

WaPo Article is behind pay firewall


12 posted on 01/01/2022 2:55:34 PM PST by phil_t
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To: blueplum
China update...

The International Council of Imams has ruled that participation and attendance at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing is prohibited.

FWIW, I think this has bugger all to do with the Uyghurs.

13 posted on 01/02/2022 5:16:09 AM PST by mewzilla (Those aren't masks. They're muzzles. )
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