President Trump Designates the Far-Left Group ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization… Upon Closer Look, Some of Their Flags Resemble Those of the Chinese Communist Party, and Some Even Feature Soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army

July 8, 2020

The following is from a special feature by Ko Bun Koubun (孫向文) and Fukada Moe (深田萌絵), published in the monthly magazine WiLL, under the title:
“The Head of Twitter’s AI Division is a Chinese Woman.”

Ms. Moe Fukada is a “national treasure” in the sense defined by Saichō (the founder of the Tendai school of Buddhism).
The way she is fighting alone in the IT industry for the sake of Japan could even be described as a “treasure among treasures.”
This article is a must-read not only for the Japanese people, but for readers around the world.
(All emphases in the body text aside from headings are mine.)

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SNS Is Overflowing with “Fake Conservatives” — Don’t Be Fooled by China’s “50 Cent Army” Opinion Manipulators!

The Existence of the “50 Cent Army”

Ko Bun:
Nice to meet you.
Since you’re very knowledgeable about IT, today I’d like to hear your thoughts on “China’s internet operations.”

Fukada:
Likewise. Please go ahead.

Ko Bun:
On the day before President Trump designated the far-left group ANTIFA as a terrorist organization (May 30), General Robert Spalding, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington and chief strategist on China issues, tweeted:

“Their (anti-racism) riots are supported by China, Russia, and other reactionary forces. These are not related to our country, but rather tied to those who want to see the United States destroyed.”

Fukada:
China’s moves are both retaliation against the Five Eyes (UK, US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) for taking a hard stance over the national security law imposed on Hong Kong, and an attempt to distract from ObamaGate.
Their goal is to justify the atrocities they are committing against Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Hongkongers by pointing the finger at America and saying, “You (white people) also practice racism and suppress democratic protests with force.”

ANTIFA had already been continuously staging anti-Trump demonstrations as early as around 2017.
Moreover, if you look closely at the flags they wave, some resemble those of the Chinese Communist Party, and there are even flags depicting scenes like “Soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army coming to the rescue,” alongside illustrations of PLA troops.

Ko Bun:
The battle over these riots is also being waged online, particularly on social media, where the number of Chinese posing as Americans is increasing.
Their icons are photos of white people, their names and bios are in English—but you’ll suddenly find bits of Chinese in their posts (laughs).
These are the so-called “50 Cent Army.”
They are part of the internet propaganda force under the Chinese Communist Party, who post pro-CCP content online in exchange for payment.

Fukada:
There are also many “fake conservative 50 Cent operatives” on the Japanese internet who pretend to be patriots.
These people often use background images featuring the Rising Sun Flag, the Nisshōki (Japanese national flag), or Mt. Fuji, and their profiles usually say things like “patriotic conservative” (laughs).

Ko Bun:
I’ve seen many of them too.
It’s ironic how often their profiles feature hashtags like “#SupportPM_Abe” followed by “#SupportXiJinping.”
Almost no real Japanese conservatives support Xi Jinping, so it’s obvious they’re operatives (laughs).
They also always say things like “Xi Jinping’s state visit is in Japan’s national interest,” or “It’s Prime Minister Abe’s intention,” and use such language to cleverly mislead the Japanese public.
Another strange thing is how they use surprisingly perfect Japanese.

Fukada:
It seems they include people of mainland or Korean descent who were born and raised in Japan, and they’re coordinating online activities as a group.

To be continued.