ISD has discovered another anti-American campaign. Who is behind it?
A new report from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) has revealed that groups linked to the Chinese Communist Party have launched a massive propaganda campaign on social media. Its goal is to incite anti-American sentiment by creating and distributing AI-generated memes.
This campaign is classified as a Spamouflage type of propaganda operation. This is how disinformation attacks in social networks are described, when structures affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party massively publish fake posts and false information using bots. Their goal is to reach an online audience around the world.
According to ISD, the main activity unfolded on platform X, as well as on Facebook and YouTube. In recent weeks, more than 5,000 fake accounts have been identified, spreading tens of thousands of propaganda memes. At the same time, the number of materials related to the upcoming US elections has recently increased by 70%.
Experts believe that the activity of Chinese groups will only increase in the coming months. Even now, they create hundreds of new accounts every day with avatars generated by neural networks. VPNs and other tools for bypassing blockages are increasingly being used.
The reason for launching the operation, most likely, was the fact that the United States supports Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip after the Hamas attack on October 7. In the cartoons, President Biden appears as a crazed arms dealer or " killer hiding behind the American flag." The memes also use footage of the destruction in Gaza, accusing Biden of starting a war in the Middle East.
This campaign is far from the first. Other foreign politicians, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, have previously been targeted by Chinese propagandists. Now the main focus is on discrediting Biden in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election.
In April, the US Justice Department arrested 34 people accused of running one of its many propaganda organizations. In January, Google removed thousands of fake videos linked to Chinese disinformation operations from YouTube. And in August, Meta * eliminated more than 7,000 accounts involved in information attacks.
Experts note that the purpose of the attackers is not so much to mislead as to illustrate the key narratives of Chinese propaganda. The emphasis on criticism of US military operations abroad is placed on most of the cartoons.
Representatives of Facebook* say that the company will continue to fight the activities of groups such as Spamouflage. However, experts urge the US authorities and IT companies to step up their efforts, since such information attacks pose a growing threat to national security in general.
Interestingly, the United States was once accused of conducting similar campaigns against Russia, Iran, and China. Experts emphasize that the problem is global in nature and requires coordinated action by the international community.
A new report from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) has revealed that groups linked to the Chinese Communist Party have launched a massive propaganda campaign on social media. Its goal is to incite anti-American sentiment by creating and distributing AI-generated memes.
This campaign is classified as a Spamouflage type of propaganda operation. This is how disinformation attacks in social networks are described, when structures affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party massively publish fake posts and false information using bots. Their goal is to reach an online audience around the world.
According to ISD, the main activity unfolded on platform X, as well as on Facebook and YouTube. In recent weeks, more than 5,000 fake accounts have been identified, spreading tens of thousands of propaganda memes. At the same time, the number of materials related to the upcoming US elections has recently increased by 70%.
Experts believe that the activity of Chinese groups will only increase in the coming months. Even now, they create hundreds of new accounts every day with avatars generated by neural networks. VPNs and other tools for bypassing blockages are increasingly being used.
The reason for launching the operation, most likely, was the fact that the United States supports Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip after the Hamas attack on October 7. In the cartoons, President Biden appears as a crazed arms dealer or " killer hiding behind the American flag." The memes also use footage of the destruction in Gaza, accusing Biden of starting a war in the Middle East.
This campaign is far from the first. Other foreign politicians, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, have previously been targeted by Chinese propagandists. Now the main focus is on discrediting Biden in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election.
In April, the US Justice Department arrested 34 people accused of running one of its many propaganda organizations. In January, Google removed thousands of fake videos linked to Chinese disinformation operations from YouTube. And in August, Meta * eliminated more than 7,000 accounts involved in information attacks.
Experts note that the purpose of the attackers is not so much to mislead as to illustrate the key narratives of Chinese propaganda. The emphasis on criticism of US military operations abroad is placed on most of the cartoons.
Representatives of Facebook* say that the company will continue to fight the activities of groups such as Spamouflage. However, experts urge the US authorities and IT companies to step up their efforts, since such information attacks pose a growing threat to national security in general.
Interestingly, the United States was once accused of conducting similar campaigns against Russia, Iran, and China. Experts emphasize that the problem is global in nature and requires coordinated action by the international community.
