Report highlights China’s attempts to manipulate US presidential election through fake accounts, images

Washington: Probes conducted by US intelligence agencies have found that countries like China, Russia, and Iran are among external forces orchestrating moves to influence and manipulate the upcoming US presidential elections in November this year, Voice of America (VOA) News reported.

A joint statement of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released a statement claiming that anti-US forces have become active and are using artificial intelligence, fake accounts and fabricated images to promote narratives favourable to Donald Trump’s candidacy.

Citing the findings of a joint investigation by VOA and a Taiwanese social media analytics firm Doublethink Lab, the news report claimed that the organisations have tracked 201 China-related accounts on the social media platform X aimed at amplifying controversial domestic issues of the US.

Chinese operatives use both genuine and AI-generated images and videos to intensify social issues like LGBTQ+ rights, abortion, immigration, race, gun control and crime rates. Notably, these acts are aimed at deepening polarization and distrust within the US voters, the report stated.

One such prominent account titled ‘CongCong’ creates posts that are shared by other accounts. In a post, CongCong described herself as “a sweet and salty little girl who takes life seriously and shares positive energy.”

One of her posts quoted in the report featured a provocative image of a gun pointed at Gaza with a caption of claims of genocide showing Israel as the gunman, the US as the weapon, and the EU as the silencer. The post was shared by around 40 accounts within the network of China-related accounts tracked by VOA.

In another case, a seeder account, Little Sister Muxi shares a graphic highlighting and comparing burdens faced by US citizens like student loans and health care costs in contrast to the benefits enjoyed by Israelis. Notably, the Israel-Gaza conflict continues to be a major polarizing issue within the US as some American voters are in support of Israel’s right to self-defence, meanwhile, others have expressed strong discontent with what they call as excessive violence.

The report also highlighted a pattern in the China-related network aimed at amplifying discussions over Intel’s recent announcement of a 15 percent workforce reduction.

The seeder account CongCong on the matter posted, “This is the decline of the United States, a recession created by the United States itself.” Notably, this message was shared by 36 accounts within the network under observation.

Other suspicious activities within the network include sharing cartoons made by China’s state-owned news platform Global Times which mocks the US for its financial support of Ukraine. Additionally, AI-generated images show homeless Americans, intending to narrate that citizens of the US remain neglected whereas the government spends billions on overseas conflicts, VOA reported.

Fake videos showing America’s drug epidemic are also common. These posts are pushed by the Spamouflage network, which according to the report is a much larger state-sponsored operation aiming to support the Chinese government all while undermining critics.

The report claimed to have uncovered two “MAGAflage” networks consisting of 25 suspicious accounts posing as supporters of Republican candidate Trump, seeking to engage with real American voters.

A network labelled ‘MAGAflage 1’ which consisted of 10 accounts had begun sharing pro-Trump material extensively following a July 13 assassination attempt on the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. These accounts use stolen bios and sourced photos for their social accounts focused on pro-China content to polarize the US issues while promoting Trump as the saviour of America, as reported by VOA. However, after the release of the report, X suspended these accounts for “violating X’s rules.” (ANI)

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