FACT CHECK #6GW0UTMS

WHAT WE FOUND

The provided sources do not contain evidence to confirm that China systematically hides metadata within the software code it produces. While reports indicate that Chinese hackers have targeted telecommunications providers to steal metadata 8, and a leaked database from China was notably missing identifying metadata 7, there is no documentation of metadata being intentionally hidden in software products. One specific case involved a U.S. citizen spying for China who used steganography to hide stolen files within the binary code of a digital photograph, but this pertained to data exfiltration rather than the production of software 6. Other sources focus on China's requirements for foreign companies to hand over source code 9 and the activities of hacking groups like iSoon, which focus on extracting data and installing malware rather than embedding hidden metadata in code 3410. Because the sources focus on the theft of metadata or the use of steganography in images rather than the embedding of metadata in software code, the claim remains unproven.