China’s multilayered effort to shape Philippine public opinion has moved from rumor to record. Documents, interviews, and platform takedowns describe how a Manila-based company, InfinitUs Marketing Solutions, ran fake social media accounts paid by the Chinese embassy to influence debate on vaccines, maritime disputes, and the U.S.–Philippine alliance. The campaign fits a larger pattern of information operations that Philippine officials and independent researchers say has been building for years and is now testing the resilience of the country’s democracy.
Internal records reviewed by reporters show the embassy contracted InfinitUs to “guide public opinion” on Facebook and X. Work logs boasted that an “army” of fake profiles boosted the ambassador’s page and pushed videos critical of U.S. missile deployments in the Philippines. The accounts also praised China’s Sinovac vaccine and circulated negative material about Western-made shots. Beijing’s line is that it does not interfere. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said allegations of influence campaigns “have failed and instead have backfired.”
How the Playbook Worked: Troll Army, Front Outlet, Cash Awards
The operation had distinct layers. First, the fake personas. An account under the name “Vince Dimaano” routinely defended China’s coast guard and urged Filipinos to stop “fighting China” on maritime rights. Investigators linked “Vince” to a set of profiles with recycled stock images and identical business reviews, classic markers of inauthentic behavior.
Second, a local-looking media outlet. Former InfinitUs employees said the firm created Ni Hao Manila to post content lauding Chinese naval power and criticizing security cooperation with Washington. TikTok later removed fake followers from the outlet after an inquiry, and analysts flagged its engagement patterns as inorganic.
Third, paid prominence for friendly voices. The Association for Philippines–China Understanding, reestablished with help from a Chinese Communist Party agency, granted awards that came with cash to Filipino officials and commentators starting in 2021. Awardees included figures who had echoed Beijing’s positions. One recipient said he accepted a plaque and was not aware of any monetary award. Another said she used the funds for charity and that there were no strings attached.
Why Social Media, and Why the Philippines Is a “Petri Dish”
Social platforms are central to politics in the Philippines and deliver powerful reach at low cost. “The explosion of social media has turbocharged influence operations in the Philippines,” said Jonathan Malaya, until recently a senior official at the National Security Council. Researchers note the country’s long history with coordinated manipulation. A whistleblower once described the Philippines as a “petri dish” for disinformation during past election cycles, and Janina Santos of Doublethink Lab said, “The Philippines is patient zero when it comes to the infodemic. We are very susceptible to a lot of fake news.”
InfinitUs’s files and platform activity point to three priority narratives:
- Undercut the U.S. alliance. Embassy-funded accounts amplified anti-American themes and attacked lawmakers who backed stronger maritime claims. Then–Congressman Robert Ace Barbers described an “aggressive comment campaign” flooding his Facebook page after he supported new protocols, while analytics firms saw coordinated attacks on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. with allegations of corruption and drug use during the election period.
- Blur facts on the West Philippine Sea. Posts promoted the notion that standing up for Manila’s rights meant war, and accounts praised China’s naval capabilities. Philippine authorities separately flagged a Chinese state-media broadcast that recycled old footage, calling it “fake news” that tried to weaken the national position. “Obviously this is another form of information manipulation,” said Commodore Jay Tarriela of the coast guard.
- Polarize through health debates. Embassy-linked profiles boosted Sinovac while disparaging Western vaccines, exploiting pandemic-era anxieties to build influence.
Meta confirmed that identified accounts violated policy and removed them after being alerted. “Operations that undermine democratic discourse or spread discord are unacceptable,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson said, adding that Washington continues to cooperate with Manila against “malign CCP activities.”
The Evidence Trail: Money, Reports, and Platform Forensics
The paper trail includes a copy of a check from the Chinese embassy to InfinitUs presented at an April Senate hearing by then–Majority Leader Francis Tolentino, who labeled the effort an “influence operation.” Progress reports from November 2024 referred to the “army” that “propagated” videos about the “cons” of U.S. missile deployments. Analysts at Graphika and other firms highlighted the overlap in content, recycled imagery, and synchronized commenting as hallmarks of a coordinated network.
Bethany Allen of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said the operation “fits China’s foreign influence playbook,” which often blends cheerful lifestyle content with political messages, rarely disclosing links to the state.
Inside the Philippines, Marcos has tightened defense ties with the United States and taken a more assertive stance at sea. That shift coincided with upticks in deepfakes and coordinated attacks online. Government fact checks called out a fabricated audio clip in which the president appeared to order a strike against China, and a video that seemed to show him taking illicit drugs. “We noticed the inauthentic accounts promoting pro-PRC narratives,” Santos said, noting networks that also aligned with pro-Duterte messaging during the midterms.
Why It Matters: Public Opinion, Law, and Security
Surveys still show strong support for the U.S. alliance, but officials warn that steady repetition can chip away at consensus. “The end goal is to make the Philippines compliant,” Tolentino said. Malaya described how proximity to Taiwan raises the stakes, since any future crisis will test Philippine resolve. Cornelio Valencia, an assistant director-general at the National Security Council, said Chinese espionage, disinformation, and psychological warfare are intensifying and “almost on par with Beijing’s ship deployments” in disputed waters.
Lawmakers are now working to modernize foreign interference and anti-espionage laws to address cyberenabled threats, disinformation, and proxy operations. Proposed penalties include heavy fines and, in some cases, life imprisonment. Officials have also tied parts of suspected activity to funds once generated by Chinese-run online gambling operations that the Philippines banned in 2024.
Analysts caution that not every spike in online noise translates into votes, but the ecosystem can distort debates and drain trust. A Philippine security presentation identified several local writers as instruments for foreign narratives. “Filipinos believe in social media,” Tolentino said. “They can be swayed.” The coast guard warned that recycled confrontations aired by foreign state media blur timelines and sow confusion. The State Department said Manila and Washington are still aligned in countering activities that “undermine democratic discourse.”
Experts recommend three lines of defense: persistent fact checking with platform partnerships, cross-border collaboration among journalists and civil society, and national media literacy so citizens can spot coordinated inauthentic behavior. The 2016 arbitral ruling against China’s nine-dash line remains the legal anchor for Manila’s maritime position. As Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo has argued, the issue is not great power rivalry but China choosing to ignore international law and the legitimate rights of the Philippines.
The InfinitUs contract shows how a Philippine firm helped foreign clients build an online machine to steer conversation inside a democratic society. The effort leveraged fake personas, a local-looking outlet, cash awards, and algorithmic reach to attack trust and tilt narratives on vaccines, maritime rights, and alliances. It is an information attack delivered through familiar feeds. Whether it changes outcomes depends on how quickly institutions and citizens adapt, enforce modern laws, and insist on shared facts in public life.