Online messaging campaigns from the Ministry of State Security (MSS) seek to educate citizens about national security threats and to instill a suspicion of foreigners, especially those from West countries. Numerous examples in WeChat posts from 2025 detail ways in which foreign spies might manipulate people into providing sensitive information and describe how model citizens can report suspicious activity to the authorities. The 2023 decision by the MSS to raise its public profile via social media echoes an approach taken by other international security services in recent years. The ministry hopes to professionalize its image, shedding its reputation as an opaque organization and building legitimacy for its mission to protect citizens from foreign threats.
MSS Sensationalizes National Security Awareness (Martin Purbrick – The Jamestown Foundation)
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