Tensions in the Red Sea region continue unabated, and the standoff between the U.S. military and Yemen's Houthis continues to escalate. In this context, a social ** account posted that an Israeli cargo ship was in trouble in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and requested assistance from the nearby Chinese ** ship, but was rejected by the Chinese ** ship. An authoritative source in the People's Liberation Army responded to this. [The "X" platform account "Megatron" released false news related to China]. After verification, the above news came from the account "megatron" of the social ** "x" platform (formerly Twitter). The account posted a tweet under the familiar name "Megatron", claiming that the medium-** ship deployed in the Red Sea had rejected a request from an Israeli cargo ship and ignored the latter's call for help. The account also claimed that the news was supported by breaking news from the Associated Press. The combination of Chinese and first-class ships, Red Sea, Israeli cargo ships, requests for help, and refusal undoubtedly attracts attention. The account labeled the news** as the Associated Press, making the news more credible.
There is no doubt that the news has spread rapidly in a short period of time, with more than 3 million views, and some accounts with negative attitudes towards China have also taken the opportunity to use this news to attack China. [The 45th batch of escort formations of the Chinese Navy recently carried out training in the Gulf of Aden]. However, after an in-depth investigation, the situation developed differently. Many ** followed the Associated Press's reporting leads, only to find that the Associated Press had not reported the news. That alone is enough to show how unusual this news is. At the same time, some people who know the inside story pointed out that the ** attached to the account when posting the message has nothing to do with the Red Sea, but was filmed in Cambodia in 2016. These facts further undermine the credibility of this news. In the end, the PLA authorities made a conclusion. An authoritative Chinese naval source told ** that the news was "false information, malicious hype". These eight-word statements immediately made the truth of the whole incident clear, and the so-called claim that the Chinese ** ship ignored the Israeli cargo ship in the Red Sea for help was completely groundless. In the final analysis, China has made a clear statement on the situation in the Red Sea.
China's spokesman Wang Wenbin pointed out not long ago that maintaining security and stability in the Red Sea region is in the common interest of the international community, because it is an important international cargo and energy channel. China has always firmly upheld the security of international waterways and resolutely opposed attacks on civilian vessels. China believes that influential powers, especially all parties, should assume a constructive and responsible role in maintaining the security of shipping lanes in the Red Sea waters. Regarding the situation in the Red Sea, China's spokesman Wang Wenbin has issued a statement. Now let's turn to accounts that are posting false information. According to publicly available information, the anonymous account claims to be focused on armed conflict and geopolitics. After the outbreak of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the account had a large amount of information about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but the authenticity of this information is difficult to determine. There is also a question that remains unanswered, that is, whether the disinformation involving China this time was inadvertently caused by the misrepresentation caused by the accountOr was it deliberately released for some ulterior motive?Whatever the motives, the serious consequences of publishing this piece of disinformation cannot be eliminated immediately.
As mentioned earlier, the tweet has more than 3 million views, and not everyone will be skeptical about it for verification and fact-finding. Some people may genuinely believe this false news, which is bound to have very negative consequences. At present, China** has refuted the rumors on social media such as the "X" platform, and has achieved positive responses.