Before the 2024 US presidential election, a recent research report pointed out that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has launched a cyber warfare campaign against the US through social media, using fake accounts to impersonate American voters, denigrate American election candidates, and attempt to create social divisions. The evolving influence operations of the CCP on the United States have raised concerns. Experts suggest that the CCP may be aiming to incite internal turmoil in America, with potential intentions to engage in military adventurism abroad.
A study released by the New York-based network tracking company Graphika on September 3 revealed a social media influence campaign related to the CCP, known as “Spamouflage” or “Dragonbridge”.
The company identified 15 Spamouflage accounts on the social media platform X, and one account on TikTok. These accounts pose as American citizens and/or advocates concerned about American politics and the West, supposedly focusing on American peace, human rights, and information integrity. There is also a cross-platform Spamouflage persona claiming to be a fictitious news media outlet focusing on America. This persona has accounts on TikTok and X, as well as a deactivated Instagram account and YouTube channel.
The report stated that leading up to the 2024 election, these accounts “seeded” and amplified content disparaging Democratic and Republican candidates, casting doubt on the legitimacy of the American election process, and spreading divisive discourse on sensitive social issues, including gun control, homelessness, drug abuse, racial inequality, and the Israel-Hamas conflict. Targets of these attacks include incumbent President Biden, former President Trump, and Vice President Harris, who recently replaced Biden as the Democratic nominee.
Jack Stubbs, who heads the research team at Graphika, stated that Spamouflage has become more aggressive in infiltrating and influencing American political dialogue. This suggests that the CCP’s influence operations in the US are evolving, engaging in more sophisticated deceptive behaviors directly targeting these highly sensitive societal fault lines.
Yu Zongqi, former Dean of the Institute of Political Warfare at the National Defense University of Taiwan, expressed to a news outlet that both the Democratic and Republican parties in the US will only take a tougher stance towards the CCP. It is a consensus in the US Congress that the CCP is the primary threat to America, surpassing Russia. He highlighted how the CCP’s online army is infiltrating both Democratic and Republican camps in the US, aiming to incite conflict between the two parties, thus weakening the country internally.
According to Yu Zongqi, the CCP’s actions towards Taiwan are being replicated in the US during this presidential election. Just as how the CCP maximized divisions in Taiwan during the presidential election there, resulting in the parliament not having a majority and hindered decision-making efficiency, especially regarding cross-strait relations, it is difficult to balance against the CCP. Meanwhile, the CCP is also spreading and amplifying “suspicions about America” in Taiwan.
He pointed out that the CCP is trying to intervene in the US election because if there is internal conflict or even bloodshed after the US presidential election, resulting in a paralyzed Congress, it will be the prime time for the CCP to engage in military adventurism. Once the US is embroiled in internal discord, it will lack the capacity to support other regions.
Deputy research associate at the National Security and Decision-Making Research Institute of the Taiwan Institute for National Defense and Security Studies, Zeng Yishuo, stated that the CCP’s actions largely replicate Russia’s intervention in US elections by targeting specific American societal issues. The CCP’s previous influence on US elections mainly targeted overseas Chinese with traditional TV ads. Activities in various countries, especially those along the Belt and Road initiative, also heavily involved Chinese nationals. If activities are conducted in the local language, they are undoubtedly aimed at exacerbating internal conflicts within the respective country.
“This time, it is emulating Russia’s intervention in US elections by targeting certain US social issues with a few but impactful attempts. The influence is not yet clear, quickly detected, but it’s an important sign. It shows that at least the CCP has begun practicing,” said Zeng.
Australian-based cybersecurity company CyberCX previously reported an AI-operated network consisting of 5,000 to 8,000 fake accounts conducting cognitive warfare related to the CCP on the X social platform. It primarily involves division on American political issues and potential interference in the upcoming US presidential election.
Zeng explained that due to the availability of deep AI technology, the CCP can influence democratic societies by manipulating various messages, perspectives, and voices.
“It does not necessarily support a specific party or candidate. Just like how Russia intervened in the US election, targeting both Republican and Democratic camps, engaging in influence operations, incitement, and division. Ultimately, the aim is to undermine public confidence in the democratic system of democratic countries and government governance, causing people to lose faith in democracy,” said Zeng.
Facebook attributed the aforementioned network-interference activities to the CCP’s law enforcement agencies, calling it “the largest known cross-platform secret influence operation worldwide”.
As part of ongoing efforts to combat such activities, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, confirmed the removal of two Spamouflage operations from its platforms.
The US government is investigating foreign interference in elections. In July this year, the US Director of National Intelligence’s office released a report on election interference, noting Beijing’s more cautious approach to the current US presidential election, stating, “We are tracking broader efforts to influence the American public.”
Yu Zongqi mentioned that the US hopes to mitigate the influence of new media platforms like TikTok through legislation, but the infiltration of authoritarian states into Western democratic societies goes beyond just new media. It also involves pseudo-academic freedom, Confucius Institutes, and various United Front tactics, police personnel in disguise, all threatening the security of democratic countries.
“The practices of authoritarian states change as democratic countries implement countermeasures, making it difficult for democratic countries to defend against these threats. However, democratic countries have their advantages in the free flow of information, where the biggest threat to any misinformation is the truth. So, democratic countries should act promptly to restrict the spread of rumors and restore the truth as quickly as possible,” said Yu.
He cited Taiwan as an example of effectively countering CCP misinformation through third-party fact-checking and private foundation verification, having better results. Western countries are currently moving towards collaborating with civil entities to jointly prevent such activities.
Zeng added that inadequately handling social media issues could pose harm to society, and Western societies are taking more proactive actions. A recent significant event was the arrest of Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, in Paris. However, dealing with TikTok before the US election is more challenging.
He believed that the US’s current actions are only a warning shot, urging joint law enforcement actions among multiple countries to safeguard election security. In addition to national security agencies, the US should make more CCP-related information public, encouraging vigilance among the general public.
Recent reports by US media revealed that Chinese government-supported hacker activities have significantly intensified, infiltrating at least two major US Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and covertly monitoring millions of American network users.
Zeng mentioned that during National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s visit to Beijing, the US unofficially disclosed this information as a warning to the CCP not to interfere in the elections. Similarly, the recent exposure of CCP’s interference via social media platforms is another step by the US to caution the CCP.