Patriotic Chinese trolls have been using fake Twitter accounts to hound foreign media companies about their reporting of the coronavirus outbreak.

According to an analysis of social media trends released on Thursday by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a network of bloggers operating independently of the Chinese government have targeted outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, CNN, BBC and the US government-funded non-profit Radio Free Asia with a barrage of criticism and fake news.

The Twitter accounts have also apparently sought to increase tensions between Taiwan and Beijing.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organisation, accused Taiwan of a racist smear - a claim amplified by patriotic tolls. Credit:Bloomberg

Although many media outlets were being trolled by Chinese accounts well before 2020, “the main campaign appears to have picked up steam around mid-March as a loose network of Twitter accounts designed to mimic and harass Western media”, according to the Institute's researchers Elise Thomas and Albert Zang.