China planned to stoke the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots using corporate media to launder propaganda and tank President Donald Trump’s reelection, according to explosive intelligence documents released by the White House Thursday.
The intelligence summaries from 2020 — which were apparently hidden from Trump at the time — reveal Beijing’s strategy to exploit America’s racial tensions.
China planned on “encouraging violent demonstrations and looting to increase the appearance of social unrest” ahead of the 2020 election and to “exploit U.S. societal fissures and vulnerabilities,” in part by “alleging that White people hate Black people,” according to the documents.
“China had developed capabilities to project themes on these topics into social media (Tiktok, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and others), as well as mainstream media through a variety of overt and hidden influencers and media contributors.”
The Chinese were focused on “inciting demonstrations and marches as evidence of racial divides; increasing the level of conflict between police and anti-racism activists; and feeding any sense that U.S. law enforcement resents USG and people of color,” according to one intelligence summary from a “sensitive government agency.”
The documents raise serious questions about whether corporate media outlets fueling the 2020 race riots were knowingly pushing Chinese propaganda to alter the election — or were simply too incompetent to realize it.
The media encouraged demands for a “racial reckoning,” corporate capitulation to the BLM mob, billions in damages from burning American cities, and the degradation of institutions to unevenly apply the law on racial grounds — apparently in line with Beijing’s wishes.
Some outlets didn’t just advance Chinese propaganda. They orchestrated cover once people started catching on.
In September 2020, The Heritage Foundation highlighted the possibility of Chinese influence in the BLM riots. Heritage noted that 95 percent of the riots were linked to BLM and pointed out evidence that Chinese activist groups were funding them.
“The U.S. government should connect the dots and investigate the extent of the Chinese Communist Party’s support for the Black Lives Matter organization and the riots,” Heritage stated.
One month later — and only weeks before Election Day — Axios dutifully ran the headline “Right-wing media falsely ties Black Lives Matter movement to Beijing.”
Axios explicitly supported the BLM riots. CEO Jim VandeHei encouraged his staff to join them and said the company would pay for bail if they were arrested and medical bills if they were injured.
“We proudly support and encourage you to exercise your rights to free speech, press, and protest. If you’re arrested or meet harm while exercising these rights, Axios will stand behind you and use the Family Fund to cover your bail or assist with medical bills.”
The newly declassified documents vindicate what conservatives argued in real time — and expose the media outlets that provided cover for a foreign influence operation targeting an American election.
