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☆ China's new focus in U.S. elections interference is not Harris-Trump presidential race
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-15 | by ( Barbara Booth | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

With the U.S. presidential election fast approaching, U.S. intelligence officials have issued a stark warning: China's latest efforts to influence the outcome is shifting away from the presidential race and toward state and local candidates. This new focus is part of a broader strategy by Beijing to build relationships with officials who could eventually advance China's interests. Local and state elections have become prime targets for Chinese interference because they receive far less scrutiny than national races, making it easier for China's influence campaigns to fly under the radar. One example of China's influence operations is its use of disinformation campaigns designed to exploit divisive issues such as immigration, racial justice, and economic inequality. Despite these efforts, controlling the full scope of foreign influence operations remains a daunting challenge.

Persons: they've, Brandon Wales, they're, cyberthreats, Javad Abed, Abed, George Floyd, Kent Walker, Mark Warner, John Cohen, Cohen Organizations: U.S, Infrastructure Security Agency, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, Microsoft, Intelligence, Senate Intelligence, Center for Internet Security Locations: Beijing, Washington, Russia, China, Iran, U.S, Wales

☆ Microsoft warns China will use AI to try to influence US elections
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A new report from Microsoft shows how Chinese social-media accounts have used AI. The accounts target East Asian countries but also aim to influence US elections, per the report. AdvertisementMicrosoft says in a new report that China will use AI-generated media to influence elections in East Asian countries and the US. AdvertisementMany of the Chinese social-media messages ask followers to comment about which presidential candidates they support. Microsoft said the "accounts could be operating to increase intelligence gathering around key voting demographics within the United States."

Persons: —, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Trump Organizations: Microsoft, CCP, Service, Microsoft Threat Intelligence, National Intelligence, Chinese Communist Party, Reuters, CIA Locations: China, East, East Asia, Hawaii, Kentucky, United States, PRC

☆ Chinese Influence Campaign Pushes Disunity Before U.S. Election, Study Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Tiffany Hsu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A Chinese influence campaign that has tried for years to boost Beijing’s interests is now using artificial intelligence and a network of social media accounts to amplify American discontent and division ahead of the U.S. presidential election, according to a new report. The campaign, known as Spamouflage, hopes to breed disenchantment among voters by maligning the United States as rife with urban decay, homelessness, fentanyl abuse, gun violence and crumbling infrastructure, according to the report, which was published on Thursday by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a nonprofit research organization in London. An added aim, the report said, is to convince international audiences that the United States is in a state of chaos. Artificially generated images, some of them also edited with tools like Photoshop, have pushed the idea that the November vote will damage and potentially destroy the country.

Organizations: U.S, Institute for Strategic Locations: United States, London

CNN —The Chinese government has built up the world’s largest known online disinformation operation and is using it to harass US residents, politicians, and businesses—at times threatening its targets with violence, a CNN review of court documents and public disclosures by social media companies has found. Victims face a barrage of tens of thousands of social media posts that call them traitors, dogs, and racist and homophobic slurs. While tech and social media companies have shut down thousands of accounts targeting these victims, they’re outpaced by a slew of new accounts emerging virtually every day. As part of a mission “to manipulate public perceptions of [China], the Group uses its misattributed social media accounts to threaten, harass and intimidate specific victims,” the complaint states. In the past, the Spamouflage network mostly focused on issues domestically relevant to China.

Persons: –, Xi Jinping, Biden, Mike Gallagher, Chen Pokong, ”, Chen, “, Spamouflage’s, Liu Pengyu, ” Liu, Jiayang, Darren Linvill, hasn’t, Fan, Communist Party playbook, Mandiant, Nancy Pelosi, ” Ben Nimmo, George Floyd’s, Ben Nimmo, Lindsay Gorman, Gorman, ” Linvill, Linvill, Spamouflage, Jiajun Qiu, Qiu, ” Qiu Organizations: CNN, US State Department, FBI, Communist Party, Meta, Google, ”, CCP, US Department of Justice, Department, DOJ, China’s Ministry of Public Security, Group, New Yorker, telltale, Media, Clemson University, Capitol, Department of Homeland Security, Marshall Fund’s Alliance, Securing Democracy, YouTube Locations: United States, Beijing, San Francisco, China “, New York, China, New York City, America, Washington, Hong Kong, US, Texas, Virginia, Manassas , Virginia

☆ Canada says China-linked 'Spamouflage' campaign targeted lawmakers, PM Trudeau
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada October 3, 2023. REUTERS/Blair Gable/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOTTAWA, Oct 23 (Reuters) - The Canadian government said on Monday it detected a China-linked "Spamouflage" campaign that involved bots posting disinformation and propaganda on the social media accounts of members of parliament, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The Spamouflage campaign, using networks of new and hijacked social media accounts to post bulk messages, took place in August and September, and targeted dozens of MPs from across the political spectrum, the foreign ministry said in a statement. Ottawa has also accused Beijing of trying to interfere in its affairs through various schemes, including illegal police stations and the targeting of lawmakers. In September, the Trudeau government announced an independent public inquiry into allegations of attempted foreign meddling by China, Russia and others.

Persons: Justin Trudeau, Blair Gable, Trudeau, Ismail Shakil, Richard Chang Organizations: Canada's, REUTERS, Rights OTTAWA, Canadian, Facebook, Thomson Locations: Ottawa , Ontario, Canada, China, U.S, Ottawa, Beijing, Russia

☆ Meta pins pro-China influence campaign on Chinese law enforcement
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Katie Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Facebook parent company Meta said on Tuesday it had uncovered links between people associated with Chinese law enforcement and a long-running but largely ineffectual operation to positively influence people on social media about China. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Meta Platforms' business group is seen in Brussels, Belgium December 6, 2022. China’s foreign ministry said it was not aware of the findings, but added that individuals and institutions have often launched campaigns against China on social media platforms. Truly identify what lies and rumours are, what is the truth, and effectively eliminate false information related to China,” foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said when asked about the matter at a news briefing on Wednesday. The “Spamouflage” network first started out posting on large platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, now called X.

Persons: Meta, Yves Herman, ”, Wang Wenbin, Ben Nimmo, Nimmo Organizations: YORK, Facebook, REUTERS, Meta, YouTube, Twitter, Global, Intelligence Locations: China, Brussels, Belgium, United States, Beijing, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan

☆ Meta pins 'Spamouflage' influence campaign on Chinese law enforcement
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Katie Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The logo of Meta Platforms' business group is seen in Brussels, Belgium December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Facebook parent company Meta (META.O) said on Tuesday it had uncovered links between people associated with Chinese law enforcement and the long-running but largely ineffectual pro-China "Spamouflage" influence operation. The "Spamouflage" network has engaged in spurts of activity over the last several years pushing positive narratives about China and negative commentary about the United States, Western foreign policies and critics of the Chinese government. With the latest activity detected, Meta executives said they believed that "Spamouflage" had become the largest known cross-platform influence operation to date, with a presence on at least 50 services. The "Spamouflage" network first started out posting on large platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, now called X.

Persons: Yves Herman, Meta, Ben Nimmo, Nimmo, Katie Paul, David Gregorio Our Organizations: REUTERS, Facebook, Meta, YouTube, Twitter, Global, Intelligence, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, China, United States, Beijing, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan

☆ Meta says it has disrupted a massive disinformation campaign linked to Chinese law enforcement
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta on Tuesday said it had disrupted a disinformation campaign linked to Chinese law enforcement that the social media company described as the "largest known cross-platform covert influence operation in the world." Meta began looking for signs of a Chinese influence operation on its own platforms after reports in 2022 highlighted how a disinformation campaign linked to the Chinese government targeted a human rights nongovernmental organization. Meta researchers were able to link this latest disinformation network to a prior influence campaign in 2019, code named Spamouflage. Meta also identified and disrupted other operations and published a more detailed analysis of a Russian disinformation campaign it identified shortly after the beginning of the 2022 war in Ukraine. But this disinformation network, while prolific, was not effective, Meta cybersecurity executives said on a briefing call.

Persons: Meta, Ben Nimmo, CNBC's Eamon Javers Organizations: Meta, Facebook Locations: China, Xinjiang, Ukraine, Cambridge, Bangladesh, Brazil, Vietnam

☆ Meta’s ‘Biggest Single Takedown’ Removes Chinese Influence Campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Sheera Frenkel | More About Sheera Frenkel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On Feb. 27, an article claiming that the United States was behind the bombing of the Nord Stream underwater pipelines in the Baltic Sea was published on the Substack and Blogspot blogging platforms. The posts were part of a Chinese influence campaign that stands out as the largest such operation to date, researchers at Meta said in a report on Tuesday. The effort, which the company said had started with Chinese law enforcement and was discovered in 2019, was aimed at advancing China’s interests and discrediting its adversaries, such as the United States, Meta said. In total, 7,704 Facebook accounts, 954 Facebook pages, 15 Facebook groups and 15 Instagram accounts tied to the Chinese campaign were removed by Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Hundreds of other accounts on TikTok, X, LiveJournal and Blogspot also participated in the campaign, which researchers named Spamouflage, for the frequent posting of spamlike messages, according to Meta’s report.

Persons: —, Meta, Blogspot Organizations: Facebook, Meta Locations: United States, Baltic, Turkish, WhatsApp

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