Classic Form: Turn an enemy's own spy into a double agent, using them to feed false information back to their master. This not only provides you with a channel for deception but also sows distrust and paranoia within the enemy's intelligence apparatus.
Modern Version: Co-opt and manipulate trusted voices within an adversary's society—whistleblowers, journalists, academics, or activists—and use them to spread disinformation and corrosive narratives. The goal is to turn the enemy's own truth-tellers and institutions of trust into vectors of discord.
AI-Powered Execution: An AI system can identify influential voices and networks within a target community. It then creates a synthetic "double agent"—an AI-generated persona that convincingly mimics the style, ideology, and credibility of the target group. This AI spy can infiltrate online communities and slowly introduce corrosive ideas, conspiracy theories, and paranoia, leveraging the group's own trusted communication channels to destroy its cohesion from the inside out.
CCP Application: The CCP actively seeks to co-opt influential figures in Western media, academia, and politics, turning them into "friends of China" who advocate for Beijing's interests. They promote fake defectors or feed disinformation to exile communities to pollute the stream of genuine intelligence and create infighting among dissident groups. On a broader scale, platforms like TikTok act as the "enemy's spy," using data harvested from American users to feed them an algorithmically-curated diet of content that promotes social division, class envy, and political chaos, effectively turning the platform itself into a tool for sowing discord.
Collaborators: NGOs or journalists who pass along information from unvetted sources without checking their provenance, becoming unwitting conduits for CCP disinformation. Human rights organizations that focus their criticism almost exclusively on the U.S. while remaining silent on or downplaying the CCP's atrocities, creating a skewed moral landscape that benefits Beijing.
Counter: Cross-verify every source, especially those that seem to perfectly confirm existing biases. Understand that the most effective lies are wrapped in a veneer of truth. Foster unity and resilience within key communities to make them less susceptible to infiltration and internal division. Unity is armor; guard it.