ANATOMY OF NARRATIVE WARFARE: China’s Fake Photo Propaganda Attack On Australia.

A Chinese foreign ministry official recently tweeted a photo showing an Australian special operations soldier in Afghanistan holding a knife to the throat of a child.

The picture was digitally altered, a contrived visual lie spread via the internet with the linked goals of provoking shock and anger in viewers worldwide — and then politically manipulating those human emotions to the benefit of the Chinese Communist Party.

Sky News Australia anchor Rowan Dean called the propaganda a communist Chinese attack on the Australian military, one intended to destroy military morale. From an adversary’s perspective, soldier morale is always a psychological-warfare target. The vile image also targeted the Australian government, which opposes China’s territorial claims and criticizes its dismal human rights record.

Though the dateline is December 19, the column dates from December 7.