# How China-linked posts sparked U.S. protests > A political warfare campaign against American military bases traveled from Beijing to Philadelphia, amplified by TikTok's algorithm. - Title: How China-linked posts sparked U.S. protests · Newsweek - Summary: A political warfare campaign against American military bases traveled from Beijing to Philadelphia, amplified by TikTok's algorithm. A coordinated campaign… - Keywords: neville roy singham, tricontinental, hands off asia, tiktok, bytedance, political warfare, china, beijing, philadelphia, springai, algorithmic manipulation, anti-imperialism - Source: Newsweek — https://newsweek.com/how-social-posts-made-in-china-sparked-anti-us-protests-in-america-12444410 - Read time: 3 min - Topics: neville roy singham, tricontinental, hands off asia, tiktok, bytedance, political warfare, china, beijing, philadelphia, springai, algorithmic manipulation, anti-imperialism ## A slogan born in Shanghai In March, "Hands Off Asia!" appeared on X from a U.S.-registered network funded by tech millionaire Neville Roy Singham, who lives in Shanghai. ## From Beijing to American streets By August, the campaign reached Philadelphia and New York with rallies and closed-door meetings. One event on "insurgency" required masks for counter-surveillance. ## Launched on Vietnam's anniversary The campaign officially launched April 30 from Beijing, timed to the 51st anniversary of Saigon's fall. It targets U.S. bases across Asia. > The U.S. military presence does not mean protection for any of the peoples in the region. ## Hundreds of groups involved Newsweek identified scores of accounts and organizations connected to the same message. Many link back to Singham, who has funded key groups including Tricontinental. ## The Colombo Declaration A July conference in Sri Lanka produced a signed declaration: "The enemy is one and indivisible. So must our answer be. Hands off Asia!" > The enemy is one and indivisible. So must our answer be. Hands off Asia! ## TikTok's unnatural boost Israeli startup SpringAI found anti-American campaign content being served far more often than engagement explains. The amplification appears to come from inside TikTok. ## Political warfare doctrine The Chinese Communist Party has researched political warfare for decades, viewing it as the highest form: how to win without fighting. ## America let its guard down The U.S. dismantled most political warfare efforts after the Cold War ended in 1989. Analysts say America is now unequipped to answer this threat. ## Singham's Shanghai connections In Shanghai, Singham regularly meets with CCP ideologues and propagandists. He appeared to compare Western democracy to fascism in one publication. > The real struggle was never between three systems but between two: socialism and capitalism. ## The DSA connection The Chinese Communist Party has made efforts to find allies among the Democratic Socialists of America, which is fielding candidates and winning elections. ## Massive money flows Singham's networks contributed $591 million between 2017 and 2025 globally, spreading pro-China propaganda through five concentric rings of organizations. ## Justice Department investigating The DOJ is investigating if financial crimes are taking place. Congress has subpoenaed Tricontinental and two other groups in Singham's network. ## A kernel of truth The campaign exploits genuine local grievances about U.S. bases in Okinawa, South Korea and the Philippines. But China is never mentioned as a problem. > It's the way they are amplified and manipulated, that's what it's all about. ## Philadelphia gets organized Groups in Philadelphia held meetings on "insurgency" and ran campaigns against South Korean corporation Hanwha, exposing its "ties with the U.S. Empire." ## Astronomical algorithmic bias SpringAI found TikTok served campaign videos with bias of 9.5 standard deviations. That's like flipping a coin 100 times and getting virtually only heads. ## Seven amplified narratives The most promoted messages: U.S. bases are tripwires, the U.S. manufactures Asian threats, the South China Sea belongs to China, and U.S. propaganda wars on Asian minds. ## Manipulation from inside SpringAI's technology detected the manipulation was coming from inside the TikTok platform itself. An independent expert confirmed content was served "way more than normal." > The algorithm serves this campaign content way more than expected, way more than is normal. ## Social media as weapon The PLA has publicly used the term "social media warfare" since 2015. To the PLA, social media is a weapon employed to win confrontations. ## Congressional warning A bipartisan report found adversaries are exploiting America's open society. China is the key actor alongside Iran and Russia. > Our nation's adversaries are actively exploiting our free and open society and are working in imaginative ways to achieve their strategic objectives. ## Time to push back Experts say America needs to rebuild its political warfare capability. One analyst put it bluntly: "We are under no obligation to commit national suicide." > We are under no obligation to commit national suicide. ## Key takeaway A coordinated campaign against U.S. military presence in Asia, funded by a Shanghai-based American millionaire and algorithmically amplified on TikTok, has spread from Beijing to American streets.