When a projectile struck a Hong Kong woman in the eye this week as protesters clashed with the police, China responded quickly.

Its state television network reported that the woman had been injured not by one of the police’s beanbag rounds, but by a protester.

The network’s website went further: it posted what it said was a photo of the woman counting out cash on a Hong Kong sidewalk – insinuating, as Chinese reports have claimed before, that the protesters are merely paid provocateurs.

The assertion was more than just spin or fake news. The Communist Party exerts overwhelming control over media content inside China’s so-called Great Firewall.

It is now using it as a cudgel in an information war over the Hong Kong protests.

Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Show all 33 1 /33 Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Police clash with anti-government protesters at the airport in Hong Kong REUTERS Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Riot police used pepper spray in an attempt to disperse the anti-extradition bill protesters Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Medics attempt to remove an injured man who anti-government protesters said was an undercover policeman Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport The mass demonstration continued into a second day after a woman was shot in the eye during a previous protest Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport The police clashed with several protesters Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Leaving one bleeding on the floor Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Protesters detained the man, they claimed was a police officer, and threw water on him AP Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Riot police use pepper spray to disperse anti-extradition bill protesters during a mass demonstration after a woman was shot in the eye, at the Hong Kong international airport, in Hong Kong China August 13, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu TYRONE SIU Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport He required medical assistance, but they struggled to remove him from the airport AP Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Police clash with anti-government protesters at the airport in Hong Kong, China August 13, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas Peter THOMAS PETER Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Riot police use pepper spray to disperse anti-extradition bill protesters during a mass demonstration after a woman was shot in the eye, at the Hong Kong international airport, in Hong Kong China August 13, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu TYRONE SIU Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Riot police use pepper spray to disperse anti-extradition bill protesters during a mass demonstration after a woman was shot in the eye, at the Hong Kong international airport, in Hong Kong China August 13, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas Peter THOMAS PETER Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Riot police is seen during a mass demonstration after a woman was shot in the eye, at the Hong Kong international airport, in Hong Kong China August 13, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu TYRONE SIU Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Riot police use pepper spray Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport A tourist gives her luggage to security guards as she tries to enter the departures gate during another demonstration by pro-democracy protesters at Hong Kong's international airport. AFP/Getty Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Protesters blocked passengers at departure halls of Hong Kong airport on August 13, a day after a sit-in forced authorities to cancel all flights to and from the major international hub. Getty Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Travellers react as they manage to walk through the protesters to the departure gates AP Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Rallies against a controversial extradition bill have continued across Hong Kong, since 9 June. It has plunged the city into crisis after several violent clashes occurred during the demonstrations. AP Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam apologised for introducing the bill and declared it "dead", however protesters have continued to draw large crowds with demands for Lam's resignation and completely withdraw the bill. AP Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Anti-government protesters try to prevent a passenger from breaching a barricade in front of departure gates. Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Protesters use luggage trolleys to block the walkway to the departure gates AP Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Protesters use luggage trolleys to block the walkway to the departure gates during a demonstration at the Airport in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2019. Protesters severely crippled operations at Hong Kong's international airport for a second day Tuesday, forcing authorities to cancel all remaining flights out of the city after demonstrators took over the terminals as part of their push for democratic reforms.(AP Photo/Vincent Yu) Vincent Yu AP Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport HONG KONG, CHINA - AUGUST 13: Protesters hold placards as they block the departure gate of the Hong Kong International Airport Terminal 2 during a demonstration on August 13, 2019 in Hong Kong, China. Pro-democracy protesters have continued rallies on the streets of Hong Kong against a controversial extradition bill since 9 June as the city plunged into crisis after waves of demonstrations and several violent clashes. Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam apologized for introducing the bill and declared it "dead", however protesters have continued to draw large crowds with demands for Lam's resignation and completely withdraw the bill. (Photo by Anthony Kwan/Getty Images) Anthony Kwan Getty Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport TOPSHOT - A pro-democracy protester holds a placard during another demonstration at Hong Kong's international airport on August 13, 2019. - Protesters blocked passengers at departure halls of Hong Kong airport on August 13, a day after a sit-in forced authorities to cancel all flights to and from the major international hub. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)PHILIP FONG/AFP/Getty Images PHILIP FONG AFP/Getty Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport TOPSHOT - Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters (bottom) block access to the departure gates during another demonstration at Hong Kong's international airport on August 13, 2019. - Protesters blocked passengers at departure halls of Hong Kong airport on August 13, a day after a sit-in forced authorities to cancel all flights to and from the major international hub. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)PHILIP FONG/AFP/Getty Images PHILIP FONG AFP Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport A woman holds a flower and posters showing people injured by police AP Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport epa07770792 Protesters hold signs during a sit-in against police violence in Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok International Airport, Hong Kong, China, 13 August 2019. Air passengers are facing a second day of disruption as the airport slowly gets back to capacity, following a mass protest on 12 August. Hundreds of flights are still marked as cancelled. EPA/LAUREL CHOR LAUREL CHOR EPA Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport A traveller shouts while holding her luggage AFP/Getty Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Anti-extradition bill protesters try to stop passengers from entering the security gates during a mass demonstration after a woman was shot in the eye, at the Hong Kong international airport, in Hong Kong China August 13, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu TYRONE SIU Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Anti-extradition bill protesters use trolleys to stop passengers from entering the security gates during a mass demonstration after a woman was shot in the eye, at the Hong Kong international airport, in Hong Kong China August 13, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu TYRONE SIU Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Anti-extradition bill protesters use trolleys to stop passengers from entering the security gates during a mass demonstration after a woman was shot in the eye, at the Hong Kong international airport, in Hong Kong China August 13, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu TYRONE SIU Reuters Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport Protesters show posters to travellers at the arrival hall AP Hong Kong protests: Riot police sent in to airport HONG KONG, CHINA - AUGUST 13: Protesters hold placards as they block the departure gate of the Hong Kong International Airport Terminal 2 during a demonstration on August 13, 2019 in Hong Kong, China. Pro-democracy protesters have continued rallies on the streets of Hong Kong against a controversial extradition bill since 9 June as the city plunged into crisis after waves of demonstrations and several violent clashes. Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam apologized for introducing the bill and declared it "dead", however protesters have continued to draw large crowds with demands for Lam's resignation and completely withdraw the bill. (Photo by Anthony Kwan/Getty Images) Anthony Kwan Getty

In recent days, China has more aggressively stirred up nationalist and anti-Western sentiment using state and social media, and it has manipulated the context of images and videos to undermine the protesters. Chinese officials have begun branding the demonstrations as a prelude to terrorism.

The result, both in mainland China and abroad, has been to create an alternate version of what, seen from Hong Kong, is clearly a popular demonstration movement.

In China’s version, a small violent gang of protesters, unsupported by residents and provoked by foreign agents, is running rampant, calling for Hong Kong’s independence and tearing China apart.

This narrative almost certainly reflects that of the country’s leaders, including Xi Jinping, and it is fuelling misunderstanding – and, increasingly, anger – among the Chinese public. That could, in turn, raise pressure on the government, increasing the risk of an overreaction or miscalculation based on limited or inaccurate information.

People posting on Weibo, a Chinese social media service similar to Twitter, are increasingly calling for Beijing to act. “Beating them to a pulp is not enough,” one person said about protesters Tuesday, echoing an increasingly common sentiment on Weibo. “They must be beaten to death. Just send a few tanks over to clean them up.”

Since China’s censors have the ability to quickly remove offending comments, the abundance of them suggests that the government is willing to tolerate the warning they deliver, however ominous it sounds.

China has long curated the content that it allows its citizens to see and read. Its new campaign echoes tactics used by other countries, principally Russia, to inundate domestic and international audiences with bursts of information, propaganda and, in some cases, outright disinformation.

“Propagandists observe each other across borders, and they learn from each other,” said Peter Pomerantsev, the author of This is Not Propaganda, a new book that describes how authoritarian governments have weaponised social media, once hailed as heralds of democratic ideals.

The disinformation has clearly been aimed at undermining sympathy for the Hong Kong protesters’ goals, which now include demands for greater democratic freedoms for the territory’s seven million residents.

Clashes at Hong Kong airport as riot police try to stop anti-extradition bill protesters

Propaganda in the traditional sense, Mr Pomerantsev said, would try to win over an audience, while disinformation is meant simply to sow confusion and fuel conspiracies.

“You have to smother everything with doubt, and conspiracy is very effective in creating that,” Mr Pomerantsev said in a telephone interview.

Though China’s disinformation network has received less global attention than Russia’s, the country’s officials have, over the last decade, built a machinery of online controls that far exceed any other country’s.

Hong Kong, which Britain returned to Chinese rule in 1997, remains outside China’s firewall, and thus is sitting along one of the world’s most profound online divides. Preserving the city’s freedom to live without the mainland’s controls has become one of the causes now motivating the protests.

“Deep inside, mainlanders and Hong Kong people have very different life experiences and emotions,” said Fang Kecheng, an assistant professor of journalism at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “Without the shared emotions, it’s not easy for mainlanders – even those who can freely access information – to empathise with Hong Kong people, which is an important explanation for how the government has been able to create a parallel universe of narratives.”

China’s new aggressiveness in the effort represents a shift in tactics. When large protests erupted in June over the Hong Kong government’s proposed law allowing the extradition of criminal suspects to the mainland, China’s state media and officials largely ignored them.

That changed on 1 July, when protesters stormed Hong Kong’s Legislative Council building after a day of peaceful demonstrations. A flurry of articles and editorials in China’s state media followed, condemning the vandalism and violence – without explaining what the protesters were protesting about.

Since then, the state media have vigorously defended the police in Hong Kong, belittled the protesters and accused Westerners of orchestrating the turmoil. Efforts to contextualise the situation or express sympathy for the protesters were swiftly purged from social media.

The propaganda campaign intensified after 21 July, when protesters surrounded the Chinese government’s main office in Hong Kong and threw black ink on a government emblem. And when a Chinese flag was thrown into Victoria Harbor on 3 August, the reaction in China – at least online, stoked by state media – reached a fevered pitch.

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“The five-star flag has 1.4 billion guardians,” CCTV, China’s state television broadcaster, posted to its 87 million followers on Weibo. “Repost! ‘I am a guardian of the flag!’”

It was reposted by more than 10 million people, including Jackie Chan, the Hong Kong martial arts film star. On Twitter, which is banned in China, the People’s Daily later reposted CCTV’s original post, giving it an international audience.

The yawning power imbalance, from an information-warfare point of view, has frustrated many protesters as they try to outline their demands and clarify what has actually happened in the streets.

During a peaceful sit-in at Hong Kong’s airport late last month, protesters sought to explain their demands to arriving passengers, including travellers from the mainland. But the Chinese media promoted a video of a few protesters harassing a white-haired traveller who had ripped a poster out of a demonstrator’s hands.

“Witness said the old man refused to take leaflet demonstrators gave out. I think old people don’t deserve this no matter what is the reason,” the editor of The Global Times, Hu Xijin, wrote on Twitter, with a video that only showed protesters confronting the man.

“These young people have lost all compassion for political frenzy,” he added.