n September 25th, 2022 Italy elected Giorgia Meloni—the leader of the center-right party Brothers of Italy—as the nation’s first female Prime Minister. By analyzing Meloni’s Facebook posts and public statements, DisinfoLab, a student-led think tank at the College of William & Mary, concluded that her Sino-skeptical campaign strategy was instrumental in facilitating her election. Her foreign policy prioritizes defending the homeland and safeguarding Italy’s interests, particularly against Chinese influence. She condemned Italy’s reliance on China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as it enabled the projection of Chinese preponderance. Further, Meloni denounced Beijing’s disinformation campaigns, aimed at altering Italian public opinion relating to China and COVID-19. Meloni’s use of Sino-skepticism exhibited a standard populist tactic: inciting an “us” vs. “them” attitude amongst the constituency to strengthen her voter base. DisinfoLab’s in-depth qualitative analysis on Chinese disinformation in Italy demonstrated how Meloni’s campaign strategy was a catalyst in her victory.
A “Benevolent China?”
From 2019 to 2021, the apparent altruism of Chinese cooperation captured the Italian public’s attention. The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the two nations in 2019 was a watershed moment. This agreement introduced the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which deepened economic ties via an influx of infrastructure into Italy’s ports. The COVID-19 crisis enabled China to further increase its footprint in Italy. In March 2020, Giuseppe Conte, the nation’s former Prime Minister, enrolled Italy in the Health Silk Road. Consequently, China employed extant transportation networks to distribute 2 million surgical masks, 200,000 N95 masks, and 50,000 COVID-19 testing kits in April of 2020.
The influx of infrastructure and medical supplies coincided with a surge in positive coverage on China in Italy’s foremost channels, establishing an image of a “benevolent China.” In March 2019, the Italian broadcasting company Rai signed an agreement with China Media Group to incorporate information from Chinese state media. Thus, during COVID-19, Rai featured China’s pandemic relief three times more than U.S. aid.
China’s Multifarious Disinformation Campaign
Throughout the pandemic, the introduction of Chinese media outlets in Italy intensified Chinese disinformation. Beijing’s state news agency, China News Service (CNS), distributed the Chinese magazine, Cina in Italia, to Italian newsstands and parliamentary locations. In 2021, People’s Daily, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) media purveyor, launched an Italian version: Quotidiano del Popolo. Nine articles of the latter publication, written in 2021, attributed the location of COVID-19's origin to Fort Detrick, a U.S. military installation that houses biomedical laboratories, denying Chinese culpability of the virus’ transmission. For instance, this article praises China’s transparency in allowing the World Health Organization (WHO) to investigate Chinese laboratories. Further, it criticizes WHO’s laxity in inspecting Fort Detrick as the original location of Covid-19's leak. This Italian article repudiates China’s allegations that the virus originated from the United States, exposing Beijing’s disinformation campaign in Italy.
Via the inundation of the Italian media by CCP-affiliated disinformation, Italians acquired an increasingly positive attitude toward Chinese aid. Thus, China continued to permeate the media with falsehoods to further elevate its image. Beijing manipulated videos to portray itself as a benign power. In this video uploaded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Hua Chunying, Italians profess gratitude for medical aid, shouting “Thank you China!” China’s national anthem plays in the background as Italians’ voices proliferate. Experts suggest the clip is doctored. Beyond news media efforts, the CCP used bots to popularize hashtags such as #forzaChinaeItalia (China and Italy strong) and #grazieCina (Thank you China). By increasing engagement with these hashtags, the bots aggrandized Italian affability towards China, concealing declining Italian attitudes during the pandemic.
Declining Sentiment Toward China and the Rise of Meloni
Starting in 2019, China deepened its involvement in Italy through the BRI, the Health Silk Road, and disinformation to advance the image of a “benevolent China.” Nevertheless, public opinion on Sino-Italian Relations worsened since 2021. As a result of the pandemic, 42% of the Italian public negatively views the East Asian hegemon. Giorgia Meloni capitalized on decreasing Italian opinion toward Beijing to fortify her populist appeal, voicing anti-China sentiments. She emphasized how past Italian administrations, aided by Beijing’s Health Silk Road, failed in their COVID-19 response. She noted that the “masks and hand sanitizer” imported from China were insufficient to reopen the Italian economy in the face of the pandemic and to mitigate the surge in deaths. Further, Meloni challenged China’s COVID-19 origin narrative. She blamed Beijing for the pandemic, stating that China undertook a global disinformation campaign to conceal the location of the virus’ genesis. She framed China as a malign actor while emphasizing her commitment to the defense of her nation. For instance, she declared that Brothers of Italy would interrogate the Italian Parliament to gauge its actions toward preventing Chinese COVID-19 related disinformation. Moreover, she lamented past administrations’ deepening of Sino-Italian relations, attributing Italy’s challenges to these ties.
After the election, data on Meloni’s voter base suggests Chinese influence was a factor in her victory. The majority of her voters (53%) regarded security issues, such as Chinese cyber attacks and economic espionage, as their predominant concern. A report discussing Italian public opinion on China during COVID-19 mentioned these threats as the largest factors in establishing Italians’ negative perception of China. Additional factors unrelated to Chinese influence in Italy contributed to Meloni’s election. For example, 51% voted for the resolution of domestic concerns, such as a differing political approach to the economy and other fiscal policies. While Meloni’s anti-China stance was one tactic of a multifaceted campaign, it certainly played an important role in her electoral victory. She framed Beijing’s presence in Italy as a security and economic threat, to propel her message of “putting Italy first.”
Meloni’s ascendance demonstrated the limited efficacy of Beijing’s disinformation campaigns. Italian public opinion worsened since 2021, despite China’s media efforts. In fact, Beijing’s moves backfired: Meloni bolstered her Sino-skepticism and populist appeal with demonstrable examples of China’s increasing influence in Italy. How China responds next is yet to be seen.
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Meloni’s Election Illustrates China’s Dwindling Disinformation Efficacy
Photo via Pixabay.
January 10, 2023
On September 25th, 2022 Italy elected Giorgia Meloni. By analyzing Meloni’s Facebook posts and public statements, DisinfoLab, a student-led think tank at the College of William & Mary, concluded that her Sino-skeptical campaign strategy was instrumental in facilitating her election.
O
n September 25th, 2022 Italy elected Giorgia Meloni—the leader of the center-right party Brothers of Italy—as the nation’s first female Prime Minister. By analyzing Meloni’s Facebook posts and public statements, DisinfoLab, a student-led think tank at the College of William & Mary, concluded that her Sino-skeptical campaign strategy was instrumental in facilitating her election. Her foreign policy prioritizes defending the homeland and safeguarding Italy’s interests, particularly against Chinese influence. She condemned Italy’s reliance on China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as it enabled the projection of Chinese preponderance. Further, Meloni denounced Beijing’s disinformation campaigns, aimed at altering Italian public opinion relating to China and COVID-19. Meloni’s use of Sino-skepticism exhibited a standard populist tactic: inciting an “us” vs. “them” attitude amongst the constituency to strengthen her voter base. DisinfoLab’s in-depth qualitative analysis on Chinese disinformation in Italy demonstrated how Meloni’s campaign strategy was a catalyst in her victory.
A “Benevolent China?”
From 2019 to 2021, the apparent altruism of Chinese cooperation captured the Italian public’s attention. The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the two nations in 2019 was a watershed moment. This agreement introduced the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which deepened economic ties via an influx of infrastructure into Italy’s ports. The COVID-19 crisis enabled China to further increase its footprint in Italy. In March 2020, Giuseppe Conte, the nation’s former Prime Minister, enrolled Italy in the Health Silk Road. Consequently, China employed extant transportation networks to distribute 2 million surgical masks, 200,000 N95 masks, and 50,000 COVID-19 testing kits in April of 2020.
The influx of infrastructure and medical supplies coincided with a surge in positive coverage on China in Italy’s foremost channels, establishing an image of a “benevolent China.” In March 2019, the Italian broadcasting company Rai signed an agreement with China Media Group to incorporate information from Chinese state media. Thus, during COVID-19, Rai featured China’s pandemic relief three times more than U.S. aid.
China’s Multifarious Disinformation Campaign
Throughout the pandemic, the introduction of Chinese media outlets in Italy intensified Chinese disinformation. Beijing’s state news agency, China News Service (CNS), distributed the Chinese magazine, Cina in Italia, to Italian newsstands and parliamentary locations. In 2021, People’s Daily, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) media purveyor, launched an Italian version: Quotidiano del Popolo. Nine articles of the latter publication, written in 2021, attributed the location of COVID-19's origin to Fort Detrick, a U.S. military installation that houses biomedical laboratories, denying Chinese culpability of the virus’ transmission. For instance, this article praises China’s transparency in allowing the World Health Organization (WHO) to investigate Chinese laboratories. Further, it criticizes WHO’s laxity in inspecting Fort Detrick as the original location of Covid-19's leak. This Italian article repudiates China’s allegations that the virus originated from the United States, exposing Beijing’s disinformation campaign in Italy.
Via the inundation of the Italian media by CCP-affiliated disinformation, Italians acquired an increasingly positive attitude toward Chinese aid. Thus, China continued to permeate the media with falsehoods to further elevate its image. Beijing manipulated videos to portray itself as a benign power. In this video uploaded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Hua Chunying, Italians profess gratitude for medical aid, shouting “Thank you China!” China’s national anthem plays in the background as Italians’ voices proliferate. Experts suggest the clip is doctored. Beyond news media efforts, the CCP used bots to popularize hashtags such as #forzaChinaeItalia (China and Italy strong) and #grazieCina (Thank you China). By increasing engagement with these hashtags, the bots aggrandized Italian affability towards China, concealing declining Italian attitudes during the pandemic.
Declining Sentiment Toward China and the Rise of Meloni
Starting in 2019, China deepened its involvement in Italy through the BRI, the Health Silk Road, and disinformation to advance the image of a “benevolent China.” Nevertheless, public opinion on Sino-Italian Relations worsened since 2021. As a result of the pandemic, 42% of the Italian public negatively views the East Asian hegemon. Giorgia Meloni capitalized on decreasing Italian opinion toward Beijing to fortify her populist appeal, voicing anti-China sentiments. She emphasized how past Italian administrations, aided by Beijing’s Health Silk Road, failed in their COVID-19 response. She noted that the “masks and hand sanitizer” imported from China were insufficient to reopen the Italian economy in the face of the pandemic and to mitigate the surge in deaths. Further, Meloni challenged China’s COVID-19 origin narrative. She blamed Beijing for the pandemic, stating that China undertook a global disinformation campaign to conceal the location of the virus’ genesis. She framed China as a malign actor while emphasizing her commitment to the defense of her nation. For instance, she declared that Brothers of Italy would interrogate the Italian Parliament to gauge its actions toward preventing Chinese COVID-19 related disinformation. Moreover, she lamented past administrations’ deepening of Sino-Italian relations, attributing Italy’s challenges to these ties.
After the election, data on Meloni’s voter base suggests Chinese influence was a factor in her victory. The majority of her voters (53%) regarded security issues, such as Chinese cyber attacks and economic espionage, as their predominant concern. A report discussing Italian public opinion on China during COVID-19 mentioned these threats as the largest factors in establishing Italians’ negative perception of China. Additional factors unrelated to Chinese influence in Italy contributed to Meloni’s election. For example, 51% voted for the resolution of domestic concerns, such as a differing political approach to the economy and other fiscal policies. While Meloni’s anti-China stance was one tactic of a multifaceted campaign, it certainly played an important role in her electoral victory. She framed Beijing’s presence in Italy as a security and economic threat, to propel her message of “putting Italy first.”
Meloni’s ascendance demonstrated the limited efficacy of Beijing’s disinformation campaigns. Italian public opinion worsened since 2021, despite China’s media efforts. In fact, Beijing’s moves backfired: Meloni bolstered her Sino-skepticism and populist appeal with demonstrable examples of China’s increasing influence in Italy. How China responds next is yet to be seen.
