DISINFO: The protesters want Hong Kong to become a US colony
SUMMARY
Despite the overwhelming pro-democracy vote on 24 November 2019, protests continue. They were waving US flags, chanting the Star-Spangled Banner and are asking for more support. They pledge not to let go until all their demands are met. Essentially, they want total independence from Beijing and become a US colony.
RESPONSE
This is conspiracy theory consistent with recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation about the US or West funding the Hong Kong protests. Pro-Kremlin media have long used the disinformation narrative, applied in a wide range of contexts, that any anti-government protests are funded by the US and do not emerge organically. Examples include colour revolutions in post-Soviet states, the “Arab Spring” revolts, and Ukraine's Euromaidan in 2014. Western NGOs are often targeted by pro-Kremlin disinformation as agents of this subversive and state-driven influence. See earlier disinformation cases alleging that the Hong Kong protests are the West’s revenge on China for not waging war against Russia and that the US and Western powers allegedly fund and organize the protests in Hong Kong here, here, here and here.