An army of Chinese-controlled social media bots is attempting to influence voters in Alabama, Texas and Tennessee while denigrating Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, according to research published Wednesday by Microsoft. The troll network has “parroted antisemitic messages, amplified accusations of corruption and promoted opposition candidates,” according to Microsoft. The bots amplified support for Blackburn’s election rival while spreading claims that she took money from pharmaceutical companies. Moore, McCaul and Blackburn are all running for re-election next month. The Microsoft researchers found the influence effort did not result “in high levels of engagement.” The report did not provide any metrics for how many Americans viewed the relevant social media posts.

---

Persons: denigrating Sen, Marco Rubio, Barry Moore of, Michael McCaul of, Sen, Marsha Blackburn of, Rubio, China “, Moore, McCaul, ”, Madison Green, Israel, —, China — Organizations: Microsoft, China’s Public Security Ministry, Embassy, Blackburn, Senate Intelligence Committee, Moore, Chinese Communist Party, CCP, National Intelligence, Reuters Locations: Alabama , Texas, Tennessee, Marco Rubio of Florida, Barry Moore of Alabama, Michael McCaul of Texas, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Washington, China, U.S, Israel, Russia, Iran