Bloomberg fake report coordinated with US trade war

After Apple and Amazon denied a report alleging Chinese spy chips had been infiltrated into their hardware, Bloomberg next claimed in a Tuesday report that Yossi Appleboum, a former Israeli intelligence official, provided the documents, analysis and other evidence detailing how China's intelligence services had ordered subcontractors to plant malicious microchips in Super Micro Computer Inc. server motherboards from 2013 to 2015.



According to the report, Appleboum, now a security expert working for a major US telecommunications company, said he discovered manipulated hardware from Super Micro in its network. But Bloomberg is not identifying the company due to "Appleboum's nondisclosure agreement with the client."



Bloomberg named three companies - Super Micro, Apple and Amazon - in its previous report. All denied the allegations. The US Department of Homeland Security in a statement said "at this time we have no reason" to doubt the denials of the companies. Bloomberg is facing questions about fabricating reports and it's fair to say it's suffering a crisis of credibility.



Publishing a new report can be seen as a special public relations remedy by Bloomberg. Reluctant to admit any mistake, the media organization released new information to cover over the previous discredited report. The latest report didn't identify the major telecommunications company. In this way no company will stand up and deny the Bloomberg report. The Global Times contacted Appleboum, the security expert quoted in the Bloomberg story on Wednesday, but he refused to comment.



If there is evidence, why was the report done so sneakily? If a major US company has malicious chips installed in its server motherboards, that would constitute huge news. Why would the company want to hide it?



A US cyber security company on Tuesday released a report saying China has stepped up its thefts of American trade secrets in the past six months. The company alleged China is ahead of Russia as the biggest State sponsor of cyber attacks on the West, but failed to offer evidence.



If the US government and companies really found their servers have Chinese spy chips, why didn't they reveal the evidence and sue the relevant parties in China?



The so-called investigative reports of this kind by Bloomberg are full of vague content, and the news organization can avoid admitting it has done anything wrong even if the reports contain wrong information. But such a report damaged China's reputation. Since the reports meet the demands of the current US strategy toward China, even though the fabrication may pose some risks to Bloomberg, such a fabricated report can be forgiven by US society. Fabricated intelligence or news will not be held accountable in the US if it aligns with American interests. The US launched the Iraq War in 2003 based on alleged weapons of mass destruction. That was later proved a lie. Have Americans looked into this serious fabrication? Bloomberg's fabrication is coordinated with the ongoing trade war and tallies with Washington's scheme to frame China as waging an intelligence war against the US.



Many Americans, instigated by anti-China propaganda, may be willing to buy such stories. Bloomberg hasn't apologized or stopped publishing these fake reports. This reflects how unbridled anti-China public opinion has become in the US. Bloomberg specifically targeted China's telecommunication industry, a key area targeted by the US in its trade war with China. China must take actions to correct the wrong.

