Good morning, readers!

China’s having a rough day today—facing multiple bad news at the same time.

Here’s a sneak peek:

• Its huge online spam operation got exposed (but doesn’t this surprise you, right?)

• One county is offering cash for young brides to boost marriage rates (and wait until you hear the amount).

• It lashes out at the Western media for “exaggerating” its economic troubles.

Today’s geopolitics hotspots:

Meta shuts down China’s spam operation

♾️ Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, has busted and shut down a massive online campaign that tried to make China look good and bash its critics.

The campaign was run by people tied to Chinese law enforcement, but it was mostly a flop.

🧑🏻‍💻 Spamouflage farm.

The campaign was dubbed “Spamouflage” because it tried to blend in with normal online traffic, using fake accounts.

These accounts were bought from spam farms in places like Vietnam or Bangladesh, and then used them to spread pro-China propaganda on Meta’s platforms and others like YouTube, Reddit, and X.

👙 “Smooth” operation.

But it was terrible at hiding…

Some of the accounts switched from posting ads for lingerie to posting about riots in Kazakhstan overnight.

Very smooth and subtle.

🎯 Primary targets.

They praised China and its policies in places like Xinjiang, where it is accused of human rights abuses. They also slammed the US, Western foreign policy, and anyone who dared to cross Beijing.

The campaign targeted countries of Taiwan, the US, Australia, Britain, Japan, among other Chinese-speaking population of other countries.

❌ Fail.

Meta said the campaign was:

Most of the fake accounts had few followers and low engagement. They also made many rookie mistakes, such as using terrible translations or posting at weird hours.

Meta has struck down more than 8,600 Facebook accounts, pages, groups and Instagram accounts.

Want $137? Just marry young and have babies in China

China is facing a serious population crisis. Fewer people are getting married and having babies, which means the country is getting older and less productive. This is a problem for a nation that is known as “the world’s factory.”

✍🏻 What’s being done?

To solve this problem, some local governments are offering cash and other perks to entice people to get married and have more kids.

The cash perk must be insanely generous, right?

It’s $137.

The Changshan county in Zhejiang province is giving $137 to couples who marry for the first time if the bride is under 25. It is also providing subsidies, free rides, and health checks to families with two or more children.

But don’t worry! 

Hangzhou is giving out $2,900 to parents having a third child this year.

🌟 Today’s gem

Quick updates

🇷🇺 Russia:

Rogue warlord buried in secret after Putin’s payback. Yevgeny Prigozhin was put to rest in a low-key funeral. No bouquets from Putin though, who allegedly blew up his plane. But the Kremlin is still playing innocent.

🇬🇦 Gabon:

Coup d’etat in Gabon. Military officers seize power after a disputed election—ending the Bongo family’s 55 years of tight grip on power. The rebels have canceled vote results, closed borders, and dissolved institutions.

🇨🇳 China:

Economy is slowing down, but don’t freak out. The Global Times, a loudspeaker of the Chinese Communist Party, says foreign media are blowing things out of proportion over China’s economy. It says China’s bigwigs are on the case, sorting out the trouble in the crumbling property sector, sagging consumption, and the skeptical capital market.

🇵🇰 Pakistan:

Imran Khan gets a break, but not a free pass. The former Pakistani PM won his appeal against his corruption conviction, but he’s still stuck behind bars. Why? Because he’s got another charge on his plate, plus a bunch of other cases and a do-over. He wants to run in the next elections, but can he make it?

🇨🇴 Colombia:

Thousands rev up their engines against gas hikes. The country’s left-leaning government says it needs to slash fuel subsidies to pay debts and fund social programs. But protesters are furious about the price increases killing their businesses and livelihoods.

Per gallon, it was around $2.50, now it’s $3.40. But it will soon be $4.