Chinese influence campaigns targeted American voters, study finds
New research from Graphic has found that Chinese state-linked operations have become more aggressive in their attempts to influence the 2024 US elections. The campaigns were seen using fake profiles of American voters on social media platforms to discuss sensitive social issues and divisive talking points in the run-up to the presidential election.
The influence operations (IOs) used AI-generated images of American voters. The images featured lifelike avatars that were likely produced using a commercial British AI video platform.
Despite the compelling content, the campaigns were largely categorized as “spamoflauge” – because the videos were low-quality and “spammy” in nature. None of the videos reviewed received more than 300 views and they generated very little authentic engagement, highlighting the difficulties in producing compelling political content.
Fake news is old news
The report found evidence of “coordinated amplification,” with the fake accounts re-sharing the same content and posts across a network of misinformation. The content was typically aimed at undermining American democracy and the political process, and fueling debate on sensitive topics like the legitimacy of the 2020 election and anti-establishment messaging.
This is not the first report to find that China has used (or at least supported) campaigns to influence American citizens. The state appears less interested in supporting a specific candidate and more focused on dividing the American public and create distrust in the American political system.
The use of AI in political influence campaigns is here to stay, and as the technology evolves, it will become harder to detect. Most AI content creation platforms state that their services are not for political use, but moderating their use is tricky.
