Chinese social media operation pushing divisiveness ahead of US election: Research

A Chinese state-linked social media influence operation has been pushing divisiveness denigrating candidates from both major political parties ahead of the November U.S. election, according to new research published by Graphika, a social media analytics firm. 

The researchers connected the effort to Spamouflage, an influence network that has been active since 2017 known for pushing propaganda. Spamouflage is present on more than 40 online platforms where it utilizes fake accounts to spread “pro-China and anti-Western narratives,” according to Graphika. 

The operation has intensified in the lead-up to Election Day, according to the report, with the accounts stirring up disunity on a variety of issues, including racial inequality, homelessness, gun control and the Israel-Hamas war. The accounts have targeted both presidential nominees, former President Trump and Vice President Harris. 

In the report, Graphika said it identified 15 Spamouflage accounts on the social media platform X and one account on the video-sharing platform TikTok. All of the accounts posed as either news outlets or U.S. citizens. Graphika also found related accounts on Instagram and YouTube that were already terminated before the report came out on Tuesday.  

“The channel flagged by Graphika was previously identified and terminated as part of our investigations into coordinated influence operations, and had a very small number of views at the time it was removed,” a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill. 

China’s embassy in Washington refuted the report’s findings and said the country will not meddle in the U.S. election. 

“The so-called report has no factual basis and is full of prejudice and malicious speculation against China,” Liu Pengyu, the Chinese Embassy spokesperson, said in a statement to The Hill. “China firmly opposes this. On the issue of the US election, China's position is consistent and clear. China has no intention and will not interfere in it. At the same time, we hope that the US side will not make accusations against China in the election.” 

Among others, Graphika’s researchers identified a Spamouflage persona, dubbed “Deep Red,” that has rebranded on X to mimic the U.S. user that has been posting content related to the 2024 White House election. Graphika, which says it has monitored the account since 2020, said it was the first time the analysts had seen an established Spamouflage persona turn into an American user. 

The researchers also observed a persona pretending to be a conservative news outlet named “The Harlan Report.” It has accounts on X and TikTok. It also had accounts on Instagram and YouTube, but those were previously removed. The accounts spread content supporting former President Trump. On TikTok, the account posted a video mocking Biden that generated 1.5 million views.

TikTok spokesperson told both Reuters and The Wall Street Journal that the account was removed for violating community guidelines. The account was suspended this week on X also, the Journal reported. 

The new report comes as concerns over foreign actors influencing U.S. elections are spiking. The Trump campaign said in August it was hacked. The FBI and other intelligence agencies found that Iran was behind the effort. 

“We assess that Spamouflage and other Chinese IO [influence operation] actors will almost certainly continue their efforts to influence U.S. political conversations throughout the 2024 presidential election cycle, leveraging social divisions in a polarized information environment to portray the U.S. as a declining global power with weak leaders and a failing system of governance,” Graphika researchers said in the report.