A network of four public relations (PR) firms has been operating pro-China influence operations online since at least 2022, according to Google.
In a report published on November 22, Google’s Threat Intelligence Group revealed it has removed hundreds of domains from its search and news indexes.
These domains were part of a complex ecosystem of four companies running two newswire services pushing pro-Chinese propaganda to international audiences – a network tracked by Google as GlassBridge.
Behind the GlassBridge Propaganda Network
The GlassBridge network is made up of four standalone digital PR firms that offer newswire, syndication and marketing services:
- Shanghai Haixun Technology
- Shenzhen Haimai Yunxiang Media
- Shenzhen Bowen Media
- An unknown company tracked by Google as DurinBridge
Each firm poses as an independent outlet that republishes articles from Chinese state media, press releases, and other content likely commissioned by other PR agency clients.
While separate legal entities, Google said the four companies operate in a similar fashion, suggesting some form of cooperation and coordination.
Additionally, they’re linked to two newswire services, Times Newswire and World Newswire.
Haixun, at the core of the ecosystem, hosts over 600 inauthentic news sites, while DurinBridge hosts over 200, and the other two firms host over 100 each.
GlassBridge’s Techniques, Tactics and Procedures
The content published by these four PR firms across hundreds of domains includes republications and adaptations of articles from legitimate news sites, especially stories from the Chinese government-owned Global Times.
Google has also identified content from another Chinese-aligned information operation, DragonBridge, disseminated across GlassBridge websites.Â
News stories include China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, issues surrounding Taiwan, controversies related to the Xinjiang region, narratives about the COVID-19 pandemic, conspiracy theories and personal attacks on critics of the regime.
The Google researchers also noticed that the same stories were repeated several times on the same websites.
Audience from dozens of countries outside of China have been targeted with the propaganda.
The aim is to push a pro-Chinese narrative on various topics and give the impression of mass consensus and authenticity.
Google assessed that the four PR firms “may be taking directions from a shared customer who has outsourced the distribution of pro-China content via imitation news websites.”
The cluster used Google Search, Google News and YouTube channels to promote their content. The firms also recruited freelancers on Fiverr to promote their articles on social media.
“Since 2022, Google has blocked more than a thousand GlassBridge-operated websites from eligibility to appear in Google News features and Google Discover because these sites violated our policies that prohibit deceptive behavior and require editorial transparency,” the researchers added.
They concluded that his campaign shows that Chinese information operation actors have embraced methods beyond social media to spread their narratives, using similar techniques as seen by Russian and Iranian actors.