China masterminded Rafale disinfo campaign: US report

New Delhi: China initiated an elaborate disinformation campaign, which relied on fake news, dubious social media handles and AI-generated images, to discredit the Rafale fighter jet after India used it to strike Pakistan-based terror groups under Operation Sindoor, a US Congress report has said.

In its annual report, the US China Economic and Security Review Commission said the campaign was launched to promote Chinese weapon systems, with embassies tasked by Beijing to discredit the Rafale fighters by questioning their performance in the May strikes by Indian Air Force on Pakistani terrorist infrastructure.

"Following the May 2025 India-Pakistan border crisis, China initiated a disinformation campaign to hinder sales of French Rafale aircraft in favour of its own J35s, using fake social media accounts to propagate AI images of supposed debris from the planes that China's weaponry destroyed," the report notes.


As reported by ET in June, the targeted misinformation operation was launched to harm Rafale's reputation, with actors from China and Pakistan actively involved in the campaign.

Analysis by France showed a clear pattern of misinformation that originated from Pakistan and was amplified by Chinese social media actors, including Tik Tok videos, social media posts and flawed technical analysis.

The new US report notes that in the weeks after the Indo-Pak conflict, Chinese embassies around the world were tasked to promote the alleged success of Chinese weapon systems, in an attempt to garner international weapons sales.