MANILA, Philippines — Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino said on Thursday, April 24, that the Chinese embassy in the Philippines allegedly tapped a local marketing firm to spread pro-China propaganda in the country.

In a Senate hearing on China’s alleged maritime espionage activities, Tolentino showed alleged documents showing that the Chinese embassy contracted marketing agency InfinitUs Marketing Solutions Incorporated for a social media campaign. These included a supposed check from the embassy worth P930,000 and an alleged contract that stated Infinitus will deploy “keyboard warriors” for the campaign.

The check and contract, Tolentino said, is proof that China paid to manipulate public opinion in the country.

“Hindi po ito (This is not a) normal PR campaign…. The money that the Chinese embassy paid was for something hidden and sinister. It was to finance a troll farm…. A covert disinformation and influence operation against the Philippine government and the Filipino people,” he said.

What messages was the campaign promoting?

During the hearing, Tolentino presented an alleged November 2024 report from InfinitUs that outlined narratives amplified by the campaign. The report showed that 300 Facebook accounts and 30 X accounts were involved in the campaign, and were operated by a staff of 11 members. 

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was among the top targets of the campaign. Marcos has been critical of China amid tensions in the West Philippine Sea, and has taken a friendlier approach towards the United States.

According to the alleged report, social media accounts called Marcos a puppet of the US, slammed him and his dictator father and namesake, and attacked him for the country’s P16-trillion foreign debt.

Accounts also came to China’s defense after Marcos signed the Maritime Zones Act and Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act in November 2024. They blasted his administration and claimed the new laws would further escalate tensions between China and the Philippines.

They also supposedly mass commented on the Facebook posts of Surigao del Norte 2nd District Representative Robert Ace Barbers, who criticized China for “bullying” the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea.

The network also reportedly shared content about the disadvantages of the US Typhon missile system, and promoted Beijing’s disinformation narrative that claimed Japan’s decision to release treated Fukushima water into the Pacific Ocean was unsafe. 

The InfinitUs website shows the firm previously worked for various Chinese companies, such as telecommunications giant Huawei and aluminum manufacturer Zhongwang. Makati-based InfinitUs is registered with the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission.

Rappler has reached out to InfinitUs to comment on the matter, but we have yet to receive a response. We will update this story once we do.

China’s history of information operations in the Philippines

Pro-Chinese networks have long penetrated the Philippine social media space. In 2020, Meta removed a fake Chinese network that had a “particularly striking” focus on Senator Imee Marcos and the Duterte family.

In the Philippines, Facebook pages and personalities pushing pro-China narratives typically pose as “experts” and use academic language to appear more credible. These figures often downplayed the 2016 arbitral ruling on the West Philippine Sea and China’s aggressive actions in Philippine waters.

It was in 2018 when a distinct pro-China network first formed around pro-Duterte bloggers, and it grew steadily in the years that followed. The pro-China community grew more isolated from other audiences on Facebook in 2023, after President Marcos prioritized rekindling ties with the US.

A 2024 investigation by data forensics firm The Nerve also found that pro-China propaganda targeted civilian movement Atin Ito, and baselessly claimed it was “secretly funded” by the Philippine and US governments.

On X, a network of Chinese accounts also spread the Marcos “polvoron” deepfake shortly after the President signed the Maritime Zones Act and Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act. The same network also coordinately shared similar posts surrounding Vice President Sara Duterte. — with reports from Pauline Macaraeg/Rappler.com