Fake Website Launched to Impersonate Campaign for Uyghurs, Raising Cybersecurity Concerns

By Uyghur Times Staff

Jan 14, 2026

Washington, D.C. — A fraudulent website impersonating the U.S.-based human rights organization Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU) has surfaced online, prompting warnings about potential disinformation and cybersecurity risks targeting Uyghur advocacy efforts.

According to CFU, the fake website — campaignforuyghursorg.com — is designed to closely mimic the organization’s legitimate site, campaignforuyghurs.org, and has copied press materials and descriptions of CFU’s work. The organization says the impersonation site contains information that was never issued or authorized by CFU and is intended to confuse the public and mislead supporters.

The fake domain closely mirrors CFU’s official website by replicating press materials and organizational descriptions while publishing unauthorized content. The domain was registered in July 2025.

The impersonation appeared shortly after CFU founder Rushan Abbas released her memoir, Unbroken: One Uyghur’s Fight for Freedom. Around the same time, counterfeit versions of the book emerged online using false publisher information and fabricated narratives, suggesting a broader effort to confuse the public and dilute legitimate advocacy.

“This is part of an organized effort to deceive the public and undermine our work,” Abbas said.

Cybersecurity Risks and User Safety Concerns

From a cybersecurity perspective, Uyghur Times analysis indicates that the fake domain is a classic case of typosquatting—a technique in which attackers register near-identical web addresses to exploit common typing mistakes. By removing the dot between “uyghurs” and “org,” the domain is designed to mislead users attempting to access the legitimate site.

Such impersonation domains are commonly used to harvest personal information, misdirect donations, distribute malicious files, or conduct information-gathering operations against activists and supporters. Digital rights researchers have previously documented similar tactics used against Uyghur organizations and diaspora networks.

Abbas noted that CFU and its leadership have long been targets of digital harassment and transnational repression linked to Chinese state interests, aimed at discrediting Uyghur advocacy abroad. “We will take all necessary measures to counter these abuses and continue exposing the Chinese regime’s crimes,” she said.

Campaign for Uyghurs is one of the leading Uyghur human rights organizations, alongside groups such as the Uyghur Human Rights Project and the World Uyghur Congress.

Chinese state-sponsored cyberattacks have long employed a range of digital tactics to undermine the credibility and operations of Uyghur human rights organizations, a pattern widely reported by international media outlets.

In a February 2022 report by Voice of America titled “China Suspected of Cyberattacks Targeting U.S. Organizations,” Volexity, a Washington-based cybersecurity firm, stated in a September 2019 blog post that “cyberspace has become a battleground for the Uyghur people. The level of surveillance occurring in China against Uyghurs extends well beyond their borders and has fully entered the digital realm.”

Uyghur Times has also been subjected to similar attacks for an extended period. “Recently, especially starting from January 10, 2022, we have seen increased cyberattacks by unknown hackers aimed at the main index pages of the English and Chinese versions of Uyghur Times,” Tahir Imin, the founder of Uyghur Times told VOA for the Feb 2022 article, adding that the organization’s email servers were also targeted.

In April 2025, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published a report detailing China’s malign cyber activities against Uyghur and Tibetan activists. The report noted that Citizen Lab found advocates—including some featured in ICIJ’s China Targets investigation—were targeted with malicious software disguised as Uyghur-language tools.

CFU has reported the impersonation and urged the public to verify all communications through official channels. The organization’s verified website remains https://campaignforuyghurs.org.