At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. military launched a secret campaign to counter what it perceived as China’s growing influence in the Philippines, a nation hit especially hard by the deadly virus.
The clandestine operation has not been previously reported. It aimed to sow doubt about the safety and efficacy of vaccines and other life-saving aid that was being supplied by China, a Reuters investigation found. Through phony internet accounts meant to impersonate Filipinos, the military’s propaganda efforts morphed into an anti-vax campaign. Social media posts decried the quality of face masks, test kits and the first vaccine that would become available in the Philippines – China’s Sinovac inoculation.
Reuters identified at least 300 accounts on X, formerly Twitter, that matched descriptions shared by former U.S. military officials familiar with the Philippines operation. Almost all were created in the summer of 2020 and centered on the slogan #Chinaangvirus – Tagalog for China is the virus.
He followed orders and ran an effective disinformation campaign.
Think of the Pentagon as a bureaucracy that just does what they're told. If the President says they should invade a country X, they draw up the plans, figure out the logistics, and invade country X. If the President says invade country Y, same thing, just with country Y instead of country X. They follow orders, it's kinda a big thing in the military.
Trump ordered a disinformation campaign in the Philippines, so this guy ran an effective disinformation campaign in the Philippines. If the President wanted to run a disinformation campaign in Russia this would be a guy they'd want to do it.
Follows orders and is good at his job, that's the criteria needed for a promotion.