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The CIA released a Mandarin-language video detailing secure contact steps, seeking sources on China. The campaign follows earlier outreach amid Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive.
The January 15 Mandarin-language video is explicitly aimed at Chinese audiences and outlines step-by-step instructions for securely contacting the CIA to share information about China. (IMAGE: CIA/X)
The Central Intelligence Agency on Thursday released a Mandarin-language video on social media detailing how individuals can make secure contact with the agency, a move that has renewed questions about whether Washington is openly seeking intelligence sources linked to China.
In the video, posted on January 15 across the CIA’s official platforms, the agency said it wanted to know “the truth” about China and was “looking for people who know and can tell the truth.” The post said the video provides a full set of steps for making secure contact, along with precautions to be considered before and during the process.
The Mandarin-language video features footage of Chinese professionals and businesspeople at work, while a narrator offers step-by-step guidance on how to communicate anonymously. Viewers are advised to assess risks to themselves and their families, avoid using personal devices, rely on public Wi-Fi, use virtual private networks and delete any traces of communication. The CIA also urges potential sources to create new anonymous email accounts and avoid sharing details that could be traced back to them.
The latest video follows a series of similar outreach efforts launched by the CIA in 2025, when the agency released multiple Mandarin-language clips aimed at encouraging individuals within China’s political and bureaucratic system to share information with the United States.
This video provides a complete set of steps for contacting the CIA safely. Here are a few things to consider before and during secure contact. The CIA wants to know the truth about China, and we are looking for people who know and can tell the truth. pic.twitter.com/LlLLdfA2Q4— CIA (@CIA) January 15, 2026
Those earlier videos, reported by CNN, sought to tap into discontent within China’s vast state apparatus and anxieties linked to President Xi Jinping’s sweeping anti-corruption campaign.
One of the 2025 videos was framed from the perspective of a senior Communist Party official describing fear of being purged and concern for his family’s future, while hinting at the need for an “escape route.” The campaign was seen as part of Washington’s broader push to step up intelligence gathering on China, which successive US administrations have identified as a top strategic rival.
China’s intelligence agencies, meanwhile, have mounted their own public counter-campaign in recent years, using social media to warn citizens against espionage and to remain alert to recruitment attempts by foreign intelligence services.
January 16, 2026, 02:29 IST
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