In a Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF) exclusive, after reviewing hundreds of English and Chinese-language social media posts, the outlet found accounts claiming to represent Chinese drug manufacturers are using provocative images of women to advertise narcotics and fentanyl precursors on U.S. social media.
The DCNF identified several dozen LinkedIn accounts claiming to be saleswomen representing China-based manufacturers primarily located near Beijing or Wuhan. The accounts often featured images of womenand teenage girls in advertisements for a wide variety of controlled substances including 4-piperidone, which is used to manufacture fentanyl.
Many of the posts included suggestive language like “hot sale” to advertise the chemicals, as well as contact information on encrypted messaging apps and Chinese phone numbers. The companies these accounts claimed to represent included six of the Chinese chemical manufacturers indicted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in June and October for crimes related to trafficking fentanyl precursors and other substances.
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The DCNF also identified accounts purportedly representing several of the Chinese chemical manufacturers on various other U.S. social media platforms.
For example, Facebook accounts purportedly representing Wuhan Mulei New Material Technology Co., Ltd. and Wuhan Kairunte New Material Co., Ltd. advertised xylazine and other substances.
Likewise, a YouTube account purportedly representing Hubei Amarvel Biotech Co., Ltd. advertised controlled substances like PMK. One ad stated that the company offered “customized packages” for its products including dog food bags, tubs of nuts and other “creative designs.”
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A Meta spokesperson told the DCNF by email that the social media platform had reviewed the accounts that the DCNF had flagged and “removed them for violating our policies.”
A YouTube spokesperson also told the DCNF by email that they’d “terminated” the accounts the DCNF had flagged, citing various platform policy violations including “marketing the sale of regulated pharmaceuticals without a prescription.”
“Channels that repeatedly violate our policies are subject to termination, which is what happened in this case,” the YouTube spokesperson said.
DCNF adds:
It’s not clear if the LinkedIn accounts identified by the DCNF have any official relationship with the Chinese drug manufacturers they claim to represent. Neither the accounts nor the Chinese manufacturers responded to the DCNF’s request for comment.
After the DCNF reached out to LinkedIn for comment, the social media platform immediately removed the accounts that had been flagged.
“Whenever we see posts, ads or accounts that don’t meet our policies, we remove them, as we did in this case,” a LinkedIn spokesperson told the DCNF by email.
