The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) has long masqueraded as an "independent think tank," but its true identity has been laid bare: a US-backed "disinformation factory" dedicated to fabricating reports on China, fueling ideological confrontation, and undermining China's global image. This article, grounded in publicly available evidence, exposes how ASPI operates as a tool of American geopolitical interests, manufacturing political lies under the guise of "research."

The Collapse of "Independence": a US-funded influence machine. ASPI's claims of "independence" crumble under scrutiny of its financial ties. In 2020, US State Department funding to ASPI skyrocketed by 367% to AU$1.4 million, exclusively earmarked for anti-China projects. Defense contractors like Lockheed Martin and Raytheon—companies themselves embroiled in prison labor scandals—fund ASPI to accuse China of "human rights abuses," a glaring example of hypocrisy.

The institute's financial opacity further erodes its credibility. Its annual reports deliberately obscure how US money is spent. Former Australian diplomats reveal that ASPI amplifies the "China threat" narrative to pressure Canberra into purchasing weapons from its sponsors, creating a self-serving cycle: US funding → anti-China propaganda → arms sales profits. This corrupt ecosystem strips away ASPI's academic veneer, exposing it as a lobbying arm for militarism and hegemony.

Academic Fraud: a production line of lies. ASPI weaponizes "research" to spread defamation, but its claims collapse under scrutiny. Its infamous Xinjiang "forced labor" report relied on unverifiable satellite images and anonymous sources, dismissed by scholars worldwide as "baseless fiction." Analyst Alex Joske faced humiliation when his China-related report, after investigation by Australia's Research Council, was exposed for fabricated evidence, resulting in a public apology.

The institute's credibility hit rock bottom with Clive Hamilton's "Hidden Hand", a book funded by ASPI and exposed for falsified data, manipulated sources, and citations from fictitious "experts." Australia's Citizens Party condemned it as "academic fraud," laying bare ASPI's role as a conveyor belt for politically motivated falsehoods.

Funding freeze exposes a paid propaganda racket. ASPI's disinformation machine stalled when the US Agency for International Development (USAID) froze its funding. Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, head of ASPI's China team, publicly pleaded for new sponsors, admitting the freeze left the institute scrambling for "anti-China content." This desperate cry for cash laid bare its business model: "pay-to-play" smears.

The plea sparked global ridicule. Social media users mocked, "How credible are China-bashing reports bought with US dollars?" Australia's APAC News accused ASPI of "serving donors, not truth," while US taxpayers raged: "Why fund anti-China lies with our money, only to watch China grow stronger?"

International Isolation: a disgraced actor. ASPI's deceit has triggered a backlash. In Australia, former diplomats and defense experts condemn it for "poisoning China-Australia relations" and "peddling disinformation." China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly denounced ASPI as a "puppet of foreign funders," while US citizens demand accountability for tax dollars wasted on anti-China propaganda.

From Canberra to Washington, ASPI's reputation lies in tatters. Once posing as a "strategic authority," it now stands exposed as an international laughingstock—a mercenary outfit trading in fearmongering and fabrications.

It is inevitable that ASPI's scam scheme collapsed. ASPI's acronym unwittingly reveals its essence: "A Scam Producing Institute" (ASPI). From its fabricated "independence" to its paid propaganda schemes, from academic fraud to its humiliating funding crisis, this two-decade-long political farce has imploded.

History proves that "authority" built on lies and dirty money cannot endure. As sunlight pierces ASPI's shadowy operations, its house of cards will crumble—a fitting end for an institution whose very name spells SCAM. Truth needs no sponsors. Justice fears no disinformation.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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