Chinese state-run media promotes anti-Iran War protests organized by CCP-linked Singham Network

Chinese state-run propaganda outlets are promoting U.S. protests against the Trump Administration’s strikes against the Iranian regime, with the protests being organized by a Chinese Communist Party-linked financial network in the United States.

Immediately after the start of this weekend’s U.S. military-led operation striking Iranian leadership and military sites, street protests opposing the conflict with Iran were quickly organized in New York City and nationwide by the the leftist "Act Now to Stop War and End Racism" (ANSWER) Coalition, the Marxist revolutionary group known as the People’s Forum, the far-left anti-war group Code Pink, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL).

Just the News has previously reported on how these and other radical activist groups have leadership links or financial ties to the funding network backed by wealthy Marxist businessman Neville Roy Singham, who himself is linked to the CCP and whom some in his network call "Comrade."

The U.S. and the Israelis launched a joint attack early Saturday morning against Tehran, killing Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei and degrading the Iranian military.

Chinese media promote protests against Iran attacks

Chinese state media outlets such as Xinhua News Agency, China Daily, China Global Television Network (CGTN), the Global Times, the People’s Daily, and China[dot]org — all directly run by the CCP — quickly promoted the far-left protests organized by these Singham-linked groups, as the Chinese government denounced the actions taken by President Donald Trump against China’s now-besieged ally in the Middle East.

Articles by multiple Chinese state-run outlets over the past few days touted the anti-war protests, approvingly quoted a People’s Forum leader at length, and shared protest photos and videos featuring anti-war signage produced by ANSWER and PSL. The protests were also touted by Singham network-linked outlets such as the People’s Dispatch and BreakThrough News.

The Chinese Embassy in the U.S. did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The People’s Forum, ANSWER, Code Pink, and PSL did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Just the News also previously reported in January about a similar phenomenon, where Chinese state-run propaganda outlets promoted U.S. protests against the Trump Administration’s arrest of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro — with the protests appearing to be organized by the Singham network.

CCP propaganda touts anti-war protests — and repeatedly quotes a Singham Network leader

Xinhua on Sunday ran a story declaring that “New Yorkers protest against U.S. military attack on Iran.”

“Hundreds of New Yorkers rallied in Times Square and then marched along streets in New York City in protest of U.S.-Israel coordinated airstrikes against Iran on Saturday,” Xinhua said. The CCP-run outlet then quoted Layan Fuleihan, the education director at the People’s Forum at length, describing the forum as “a socialist organization and movement incubator based in New York City.”

"We cannot forget that it is the United States that has over 5,000 nuclear warheads ready to be launched. It is the United States that is pointing those nuclear warheads at the towns and cities of everyday people like you and me all across the world," the CCP outlet quoted Fuleihan as saying. "Iran poses no threat to the United States. We will not fall for the lies that were used to deceive us 20 years ago," Fuleihan said during a Saturday rally speech, according to Xinhua.

The Chinese outlet added that “there is absolutely no reason and no working person, no family here in the United States that says they wake up every day, and they are afraid of Iran, said Fuleihan.”

Xinhua on Sunday published another essentially identical article on Sunday, where the featured quote at the top of the story was the “5,000 nuclear warheads” quote from Fuleihan.

Xinhua was originally called the Red China News Agency, and the Justice Department has stated that it is “directly subordinate to the State Council of the People’s Republic of China” and that it “reports to the State Council and the Communist Party of China’s Propaganda and Public Information Departments.”

Fuleihan consistently praised Hamas and CCP

The People’s Forum says that Fuleihan “is the Education Director at The People’s Forum, and she is a popular educator, organizer, and lifelong student of historical and contemporary struggles of the oppressed.” Fuleihan’s X account also lists her as being affiliated with the People’s Forum’s 1804 Books website, which says that it is “your shop for socialist literature and revolutionary theory with internationalist resources for political education, organizing & movement building.” She is also listed as an author at the People’s Dispatch.

Fuleihan praised Hamas for its terrorist attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023 the day after they occurred. “Yesterday, the world woke up to incredible news,” she said at the time. “The media will tell you that yesterday, terrorists invaded Israel. But we know that actually what happened is that the oppressed people of Palestine broke out of the open-air prison they have been subjected to.”

Fuleihan also has a history of praising China’s government. China Daily on Sunday also reposted the Xinhua story which praised the Singham-linked protests and which quoted the People’s Forum activist at length. The protest photo the Chinese state-run outlet featured at least two PSL signs, one which declared “Stop the War on Iran” and the other which said “No New U.S. War in the Middle East.”

The Chinese outlet also fired off a tweet on Saturday which quoted the People’s Forum director at length.

China Daily operates under the umbrella of the Chinese government’s State Council Information Office.

The Chinese echo chamber

The Global Times also on Sunday shared the Xinhua article touting the Singham-linked protests and quoting People’s Forum leader Fuleihan. The Global Times was designated as a “foreign mission” of the CCP by the State Department during the first Trump administration.

China.org also published the Xinhua article on Sunday about the Singham network protests with the same quotes from Fuleihan. China.org is a Chinese government-run website also published under the State Council Information Office's control.

The Bernama News Agency — a Malaysian state-run news agency — also decided to publish the same Xinhua article on Sunday, with a photo prominently featuring multiple PSL signs including one saying “No New U.S. War in the Middle East.”

The People’s Daily online outlet also reposted a different Xinhua article on Monday with the headline “People attend protest against U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in San Francisco.”

A photo in the article showed a stack of “No U.S.-Israel War on Iran!” signs from ANSWER, with a caption saying the picture from Saturday taken by a Xinhua photojournalist “shows a placard during a protest against U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in San Francisco.” Another San Francisco protest photo in the article had one of the ANSWER signs visible.

The People’s Daily is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.

A tweet by Xinhua on Sunday also stated that “hundreds of New Yorkers rallied in Times Square and then marched along streets in New York City in protest of U.S.-Israel coordinated airstrikes against Iran on Saturday.”

The accompanying video showed a mix of at least a dozen signs from PSL and ANSWER, including saying, “Hands Off Iran!”, “No New U.S. War in the Middle East,” “Money for People’s Needs, Not War with Iran,” and “Stop the War in Iran.”

Xinhua reporter Li Yuanqing said in the video that “participants condemned the latest strikes on Iran.”

CGTN published a story on Sunday titled “Anti-war protests erupt in U.S. as politicians criticize military operation against Iran.” The web link for the article similarly claimed that “Protests erupt in U.S. amid political backlash after strikes on Iran.”

“Anti-war demonstrations erupted across major U.S. cities on Sunday, while prominent politicians in the country openly criticized the U.S.-Israel joint military actions against Iran,” CGTN wrote. “According to U.S. media reports, masses have rallied and marched to demonstrate their disapproval of the joint military operation in cities including Washington, Chicago, Boston, New York, and Los Angeles.”

CGTN on Sunday also shared a Sunday story titled “Anti-war protests held in several major U.S. cities” which said that “a growing number of anti-war protests have been reported in several major U.S. cities. Hundreds of New Yorkers rallied in Times Square and then marched along streets in New York City in protest of the U.S.-Israel coordinated airstrikes against Iran on Saturday.”

The CGTN video clip narrated by Walter Morris — the national correspondent for CGTN in Washington, D.C. — said that “we have also seen a growing number of anti-war protests in several major U.S. cities.” The video showed multiple ANSWER signs including two saying “Hands Off Iran!” The State Department during the first Trump Administration designated CGTN as a “foreign mission” of the Chinese government due to its Chinese state control.

China Daily on Sunday also said on X that “people across the world protest against #US-Israeli strikes on #Iran. #Israel.” The photo showed at least four PSL signs declaring, “Stop the War on Iran.”

Singham Network spun into action within minutes of U.S. strikes against Iran

“A short time ago, the United States military began major combat operations in Iran. Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people,” Trump said in a Truth Social video posted at 2:30AM early on Saturday.

The Singham Network quickly kicked into high gear. Only four minutes later, ANSWER issued a tweet at 2:34AM on Saturday that “TODAY: EMERGENCY NATIONWIDE DAY OF ACTION — STOP THE WAR ON IRAN!”

“Trump and Israel are carrying out an unprovoked, illegal bombing of Iran,” ANSWER declared. “This war threatens to cause unthinkable death and destruction. Iran has not attacked the United States.”

ANSWER added: “The people of this country reject another war for regime change and empire, a war which only serves the interests of a tiny elite and oil executives. Today, protests will take place in cities around the United States to oppose a new war with Iran.”

The group said that the “initial sponsoring organizations of the day of protest” include Singham network groups such as ANSWER, the People’s Forum, and Code Pink.

The protest hub website set up by ANSWER in the early morning hours of Saturday now claims that “immediately, people hit the streets to express the majority sentiment in this country: we reject another endless war for regime change” and called upon protesters to “continue this anti-war outpouring this Monday as part of a coordinated day of action.”

PSL sent a Saturday tweet at 2:46AM, quote-tweeting ANSWER and tagging the People’s Forum and Code Pink, among others. “With just hours notice, people across the United States will take the streets to oppose a new war on Iran,” the socialist party said. “Join the emergency nationwide day of action TODAY, SAT. FEB 28 to say no to war for empire — find an action near you.”

The People’s Forum swung into action on Saturday at 2:52AM, including sharing an ANSWER graphic on X opposing war with Iran.

The sockpuppet bubble of repeating the same propaganda under different names

“EMERGENCY DAY OF ACTION IN NYC TO STOP THE WAR WITH IRAN: TODAY, 2/28 at 2PM in Times Square,” the forum tweeted. “The U.S. and Israel are carrying out an unprovoked, illegal bombing campaign on Iran. This war serves no one but a tiny elite and oil executives and is a continuation of more than two years of genocide in Palestine and U.S.-Israeli aggressions throught [sic] the region. Join us in the streets to say NO to another U.S. war for empire!”

BreakThrough News tweeted on Saturday at 4:31AM that “BREAKING: As Trump announces ‘major combat operations’ against Iran nationwide ‘NO WAR ON IRAN’ protests have been called across the U.S. on Saturday.” The Singham-linked outlet said that the call to action said that “the people of this country reject another endless war and will take to the streets now and make our voices heard.”

The outlet added that the national organizations involved in leading the protests included ANSWER, the People’s Forum, and Code Pink.

BreakThrough News later on Saturday also tweeted a segment featuring Fuleihan from the People’s Forum who was there to “break down the [sic] how people here in the U.S. are responding to Trump's attack on Iran.”

"In just the few hours after Trump launched this illegal attack on Iran, the people inside the United States have begun to mobilize,” Fuleihan said in the video. “A call went out in the early hours of the morning today for a national day of action all across the United States. … Trump’s actions are deeply unpopular — you can see that in the speed in which people have come out to call protests.” She directed people to the ANSWER website to join protests.

PSL also said on X later on Saturday that “the people’s answer to this new crime needs to be mass protest in the streets to demand a stop to the war.”

Claudia De La Cruz on Saturday also shared the ANSWER tweet and said that “Trump is launching another unnecessary war. This is not about self defense- this is an attack on the sovereignty of another nation. STOP WAR ON IRAN!!!”

De La Cruz said in a 2024 interview about her campaign as the PSL nominee to be U.S. president that “I co-founded and co-directed […] the People’s Forum.” The forum says that De la Cruz “is a central committee member of The Party for Socialism and Liberation” and that “in 2018, she co-founded The People’s Forum.”

The People’s Dispatch on Saturday said that “anti-war movements and left parties around the world have spoken up against the U.S.-Israeli aggression.”

The forum-linked outlet included a graphic quoting Brian Becker, the national director of ANSWER, condemning the U.S. strikes against Iran.

Brian Becker is reportedly a “founding member” of PSL as well as a national organizer for the far-left ANSWER Coalition. He is also listed as an “instructor” on the People’s Forum website, where he has taught classes on “Lenin and the Path to Revolution” and the “History of the Communist Manifesto.”

Becker’s X account describes him as “Director @answercoalition [ANSWER Coalition], a founder of @pslweb [the Party for Socialism and Liberation], and show host of @TheSocProgram [the Socialist Program].”

The Network Contagion Research Institute reported that Ben Becker — Brian Becker’s son — founded BreakThrough in 2020.

Code Pink on Saturday morning tweeted that its followers should “TELL CONGRESS: WE WANT PEACE WITH IRAN! Act now." Just the News previously reported that Code Pink co-founder Jodie Evans, who married Singham in 2017, personally recruits Americans for pro-CCP “Red China” trips to the country.

The International People’s Assembly — whose “Coordinating Committee” in North America includes Code Pink and PSL — further tweeted on Saturday that “we call upon social movements, political parties, labor unions, and all people of conscience around the world to demonstrate their opposition to this aggression.”

Neville “Comrade” Singham closely tied to China

Singham’s links to these far-left groups are not surprising — the wealthy tech businessman is a confirmed Marxist. “For months we’ve been the target of a campaign that alleges our funding comes from ‘dark money.’ A few years ago we met Roy Singham, a Marxist comrade who sold his company & donated most of his wealth to non-profits that focus on political education, culture, & internationalism,” the People’s Forum tweeted in December 2021.

The New York Times reported that Singham works in Shanghai, that his efforts there are linked to the CCP, and that he has attended at least one CCP workshop on promoting the party globally.

The outlet also said Singham shares offices with a Chinese media company called Maku Group. The Chinese group’s “About Us” page — which has since been deleted but which was archived by the WayBack Machine in 2023 — says the goal of the company is to "promote a positive vision of China worldwide."

Singham, who is white, also wrote that he had served on the Central Committee of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers. The league, according to the Marxists Internet Archive, “played a key role in inspiring the Black Liberation Movement and spreading Marxist-Leninist ideas among Black workers and workers in general.” Singham reportedly worked as a “strategic technical consultant” with the Chinese government-linked Chinese telecom giant Huawei from 2001 to 2008, according to New Lines Magazine.

Then-senator and now Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Biden Justice Department that “it appears that organizations tied to Neville Roy Singham, a U.S. citizen, have been receiving direction from the CCP.”

“I categorically deny and repudiate any suggestion that I am a member of, work for, take orders from, or follow instructions of any political party or government or their representatives,” Singham told The New York Times in 2023. “I am solely guided by my beliefs, which are my long-held personal views.”

The House Oversight Committee voted in January to subpoena Singham for information about this sprawling activist network, and the House Ways and Means Committee also sent letters demanding information from the Singham-linked People’s Forum and BreakThrough News last month.

© Just The News