Study: U.S. voters are under attack from Chinese cyber influence

[Compiled and published by New Sancai] Latest research from U.S. intelligence company Graphika shows that China’s social media influence operations are impersonating American voters, slandering American politicians, and spreading divisive messages ahead of the November 5 U.S. presidential election.

The campaign is part of a well-known Chinese government-linked operation that analysts have dubbed "Spamouflage" or "Dragonbridge," which pushes a mix of spam and targeted propaganda onto the Internet.

According to experts, Spamouflage has been active since at least 2017 but has intensified its activities as the election approaches. It leveraged thousands of accounts on more than 50 websites, forums and social media platforms.

"The main conclusion of this report is that Spamouflage has become more proactive in penetrating and influencing the U.S. political conversation," said Jack Stubbs, head of the Graphika research team.

Stubbs added: "This is important because it shows that China's influence operations against the United States are evolving, engaging in more advanced deception and directly targeting these organic but hypersensitive fissures in society."

One example highlighted by Graphika is China's actions impersonating American anti-war activists. Using multiple accounts on X, agents created memes that labeled Trump a "liar," showed him wearing an orange prison uniform and called Biden a "coward."

Another netizen asked in halting English: "Are Americans still our America today?"

Facebook previously blamed the campaign on Chinese law enforcement, calling it "the largest known cross-platform covert influence operation in the world."

Spamouflage's message does not appear to favor one side of the political spectrum - whether Democratic or Republican - but rather aims to amplify existing criticisms of American society and government.

Historically, the group has had limited success in engaging with real Americans, but that began to change in mid-2023, according to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, when the group became increasingly There are more and more attacks on real supporters of former President Donald Trump.

The U.S. government is investigating foreign interference in the election.

In July 2024, the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a report on election interference, stating that China "is approaching this U.S. presidential election more cautiously... and may not intend to influence the outcome." However, "we are tracking efforts to impact the American public more broadly."

(Compiled by: Wang Jimin)

(Editor: Jiang Qiming)

(Source of the article: Compiled and published by New Sancai)