The latest research report released by the information company Graphika on September 3 revealed that an influence operation related to the Chinese Communist Party is impersonating American voters, disparaging US election candidates, and spreading divisive discourse on sensitive social issues ahead of the 2024 US presidential election.
This network influence operation, known as “Spamouflage” or “Dragonbridge,” mixes spam information and targeted propaganda to push content on the internet.
Graphika identified 15 Spamouflage accounts on social media platform X and one account on TikTok. These accounts claim to be American citizens and/or advocates for peace, human rights, and information integrity in the US and the West. Graphika also found a cross-platform Spamouflage persona that presents itself as a fake news media outlet focusing on the US. This persona has accounts on TikTok and X, as well as a now deactivated Instagram account and YouTube channel.
The report stated that leading up to the 2024 election, these accounts “seeded” and amplified content disparaging both Democratic and Republican candidates, raised questions about the legitimacy of the US election process, and spread divisive commentary on sensitive social issues including gun control, homelessness, drug abuse, racial inequality, and the Israel-Hamas conflict. The targets of these attacks included President Biden, former President Trump, and Vice President Harris, who recently replaced Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate.
Graphika’s report highlighted that despite these accounts attempting to masquerade as US users and engage in discussions on hot topics, they have not been able to gain significant influence within authentic election-focused online communities. One rare exception was the TikTok account “Harlan Report,” which could be seen as one of the successful accounts built by Spamouflage. One video posted by “Harlan Report” in July garnered 1.5 million views, mocking Biden’s speech at the NATO 75th anniversary summit.
A review conducted by Reuters on the TikTok account “Harlan Report” showed that the account posted its first video in May. Other recent videos posted by the account have also received hundreds of thousands of views, including a video shared last week showing a panel discussion on CNN’s interview of Democratic presidential candidate Harris.
A TikTok spokesperson mentioned that the company permanently banned the “Harlan Report” account for violating community guidelines.
In April 2024, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) released a research report documenting four Spamouflage accounts on platform X posing as Trump supporters and “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement supporters. Graphika’s report built upon ISD’s research findings, indicating that the attempts by Spamouflage to impersonate American users were more extensive than previously reported when combined with ISD’s analysis.
ISD’s research on Spamouflage revealed that historically, its success in engaging with genuine Americans had been limited. However, this changed starting in mid-2023 as these operations increasingly targeted real supporters of former President Trump.
Experts noted that Spamouflage has been active since at least 2017, and as elections draw near, its activities have intensified. It leverages thousands of accounts across over fifty websites, forums, and social media platforms.
Jack Stubbs, who leads the Graphika research team, emphasized that the key point of the report is that Spamouflage is becoming more aggressive in infiltrating and influencing American political conversations.
Stubbs added that this is significant because it indicates that the CCP’s influence operations in the US are evolving to engage in more sophisticated deceptive behaviors, directly targeting these highly sensitive societal fault lines.
One specific example highlighted by Graphika is the CCP-backed network operations impersonating American anti-war activists. Using multiple accounts on the social media platform X, they created memes attacking both Trump and Biden.
Another account in broken English asks, “Is America still ours?”
Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu stated that China has no intention nor interference in the US elections, urging the US not to involve China in its elections.
Facebook previously attributed this activity to Chinese law enforcement agencies, labeling it as the “largest known global cross-platform secret influence campaign.”
A YouTube spokesperson mentioned that channels flagged by Graphika have been confirmed and terminated, part of their investigation into coordinated influence operations, having minimal viewership upon deletion.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, confirmed that as part of ongoing efforts to combat such activities, they have removed two Spamouflage operations from their platforms.
The US government is investigating foreign interference in elections. In July of this year, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a report on election interference, noting Beijing’s more cautious approach to the US presidential election, tracking broader efforts to influence the American public.
Graphika’s report assesses that Spamouflage and other Chinese (CCP) network influence actors are likely to continue attempting to influence US political conversations throughout the 2024 presidential election cycle, portraying the US as a declining global power within the polarized information environment. They may also continue to experiment with and expand new strategies, technologies, and procedures, including using generative AI tools to create deceptive content and scale up their operations while developing higher-quality fake personas.