Congress urged to probe anti-Sinovac campaign

ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro. PHOTO FROM THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WEBSITE

A LAWMAKER on Monday called on Congress to investigate reports that the US military ran a secret campaign to discredit the Chinese vaccine Sinovac during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"It is imperative that we ascertain the extent of the damage caused by this secret campaign and hold those responsible accountable," said House Deputy Minority leader and ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro, a member of the left-leaning Makabayan bloc in the House. "The Philippines was one of the areas targeted by this operation, and therefore, it is our duty to safeguard our nation's sovereignty and protect our people's health."

The revelation in the Reuters special report was "deeply concerning and requires immediate investigation," she added.

"Through the use of fake social media accounts impersonating Filipinos, the campaign spread anti-vaccine messages, specifically targeting China's Sinovac vaccine," she said.

The scope and reach of this campaign, Castro said, are alarming as Reuters identified over 300 fake accounts on X (formerly Twitter) that were created in the summer of 2020.

According to the lawmaker, the impact of this operation on public health cannot be overstated. Public health experts have rightfully criticized this campaign for endangering lives and undermining trust in vaccines, including those manufactured in the United States.

Moreover, the campaign contributed to vaccine hesitancy in the Philippines, a country where vaccine coverage was already limited, leading to unnecessary loss of lives, Castro said.

She said it was deeply concerning that the Pentagon overrode objections from US diplomats in Southeast Asia, who cautioned against such a campaign during a health crisis.

Castro emphasized the importance of transparency, truth and ethical conduct, especially during a global health crisis.

The US Department of Defense did not deny the Reuters report that it pursued a campaign of discrediting China's Sinovac vaccine against the coronavirus in social networks for the purpose of lowering the influence of China in Southeast Asian nations.

The campaign staged most proactively in the Philippines aimed to cast doubt on the efficacy of Chinese vaccines and other items supplied from China, including face masks and test kits.

"The Department of Defense (DoD) conducts a wide range of operations, including operations in the information environment (OIE), to counter adversary malign influence. DoD activities, including OIE, conducted outside areas of armed conflict are coordinated and deconflicted with other departments and agencies, as appropriate. This process is deliberate, methodical, and comprehensive," DoD spokesman Lisa Lawrence said.

"Several state and non-state actors use social media platforms and other media to spread disinformation and conduct malign influence campaigns against the United States," Lawrence added. "The DoD uses a variety of platforms, including social media, to counter those malign influence attacks aimed at the US, allies, and partners."

"As it relates to Covid-19 disinformation, China [in 2020] initiated a disinformation campaign to falsely blame the United States for the spread of Covid-19," Lawrence said.

"In line with the US National Defense Strategy, the DoD continues to build integrated deterrence against critical challenges to US national security, including deterring the PRC's (People's Republic of China's) spread of disinformation under the scrutiny of the department's coordination and deconfliction process," she said.

Reuters said in its report that at least 300 accounts on X (formerly Twitter) were created in 2020 to cast doubt on the safety of Sinovac.