CNA reported on the disinformation campaign attacking Singapore and Lawrence Wong. The police is investigation and has reported to YouTube to remove all the offending videos but not its entirety. It was reported that the culprits were likely to be state backed operators but it's identity was not disclosed, unlike an earlier incident when it was so quick to point the fingers at China. Maybe this time it is not China, so needed to be more careful about disclosure of the attackers. Such disinformation campaign is quite sophisticated and not easy to be tracked. Often when it could be tracked, very likely it was a red herring, to intentionally allow it to be traced to the wrong source, a false flag incident. The perpetrators are normally experts in this field and kucing kurap investigators are unlikely to be good enough to do the job.
Who is likely behind this attack is still in the dark. The only way is to speculate from whatever facts that are available, their intent and purpose, and circumstantial evidence and who is likely to benefit from it. It was stated that the Chinese text used was the version used in Taiwan, not simplified Chinese. Simpletons may jump the gun to say it must be Taiwan as China was using simplified Chinese. The smarter ones would say it was to mislead, but actually to say the Chinese are so stupid to want to directly implicate Taiwan and easily got caught red handed. Both are likely to be equally wrong.
Another way is to look at the content. The videos were likely to be AI generated and purportedly used Charlie Munger as the cover and with many references to Munger's life experience and expertise in investment strategies. The texts were then translated from English to Chinese using AI or a translation app. The creator is likely to be well versed in the biography of Charlie Munger and with quite an in depth knowledge of investment and the intricacies of stock markets, and thus be able to push out fairly coherent narratives with appropriate investment jargons and stories.
These could be the giveaway clue of the creator or parties behind the videos. Who are the likely people that knew Charlie Munger so well and also about his investment philosophies, policies and strategies?
What about the intent and purpose of the disinformation campaign? In a way, they were selling the story that China was unhappy with Lawrence Wong. In another way, it was to create a rift between China and Singapore/Lawrence Wong, that Lawrence Wong had offended China or China was offended by Lawrence Wong. Who or which party will benefit if China Singapore relations or Lawrence Wong's relation with China were negatively affected?
Another insinuation is to imply that Hsien Loong was not happy with Lawrence, or agitating Hsien Loong to remove Lawrence as PM...to whose advantage if Lawrence is removed? Someone wanting Lawrence's seat?
There are many ways to read the intention and objective of this disinformation campaign. I think, try to picture who will benefit from it is likely to provide a better lead to the source of the disinformation.
What do you think?
