Former US officials have revealed that President Donald Trump authorized the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to launch a clandestine campaign on Chinese social media in 2019, aiming to turn public opinion against the Chinese government.

The CIA formed a small team of spies who used fictitious internet identities to build bad narratives about Xi Jinping’s regime while leaking damaging intelligence to foreign media.

The effort, which began in 2019, had not previously been reported.

Over the last decade, China has swiftly expanded its worldwide footprint, forming military alliances, trade agreements, and economic relationships with developing countries.

The CIA team fanned charges that members of the ruling Communist Party were sheltering ill-gotten money overseas and blasted China’s Belt and Road Initiative as corrupt and inefficient.

The activities within China were designed to instill fear among top authorities, pushing the government to devote resources tracking incursions into Beijing’s carefully regulated internet.

The CIA program demonstrates how the US government exploits “public opinion space and media platforms as weapons to spread false information and manipulate international public opinion.” The operation against Beijing carried a considerable risk of raising relations with the United States, given China’s economic power and ability to retaliate through trade.