29-7-2024 (MANILA) A clandestine disinformation campaign orchestrated by the US Department of Defence (DoD) to undermine confidence in Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccines has ignited a firestorm of criticism in the Philippines, straining diplomatic relations between the long-standing allies.
Senator Imee Marcos, head of the foreign relations committee and sister to the Philippine president, did not mince words during a recent hearing, describing the US-sanctioned propaganda campaign as “evil, wicked, dangerous, and unethical”. Her scathing remarks carry particular weight given the Marcos family’s historically close ties with Washington.
The controversy erupted following a Reuters exposé detailing the Pentagon’s social media-driven disinformation efforts targeting not only the Philippines but also Muslim-majority nations in Central Asia and the Middle East during 2020 and 2021. The campaign spread unfounded claims about the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine, including allegations that it contained pork gelatin – a substance prohibited in Islam.
Initially, the Pentagon stood firm, defending its actions as necessary “operations in the information environment” to counter “adversary malign influence”. However, a leaked communication to the Marcos government, verified by Reuters, revealed a slight backtrack. The DoD acknowledged “missteps in our Covid-related messaging” while assuring improved oversight and accountability since 2022.
The timing of this propaganda effort coincided with a critical period in the Philippines’ pandemic response. As the country grappled with its first winter surge in late 2020, vaccination rates remained alarmingly low. By June 2021, only 2.1 million out of a targeted 70 million Filipinos had been fully inoculated. The period between April and October 2021 saw nearly 70% of the country’s total pandemic death toll, with estimates suggesting around 320,000 excess deaths overall.
While it’s challenging to directly correlate the US disinformation campaign with vaccine hesitancy in the Philippines – particularly given pre-existing scepticism stemming from a botched dengue vaccine rollout in 2016 – the potential impact on public health cannot be ignored.
This incident has reignited debates about the ethics of using health initiatives for intelligence or military purposes. It echoes the controversial CIA operation in Pakistan that exploited a hepatitis B vaccination programme to gather intelligence on Osama bin Laden, which led to violent backlashes against health workers in the region.
The current Marcos administration has maintained a relatively measured response to these revelations, despite Senator Marcos’ fiery condemnation. This restraint likely reflects the delicate balancing act Manila must perform in its relations with both Washington and Beijing.
