As reported by the publication, the accounts spreading disinformation are part of Spamouflage, the largest known covert Chinese influence operation aimed at spreading the Chinese Communist Party's theses across the internet. According to the digital forensics research group Graphika, this network has been operating since at least 2017 and posts information on more than 40 internet platforms.
Previously, propaganda campaigns were aimed at promoting positive stories about the CCP, but now attempts to influence local and national elections are increasingly being recorded, specifically targeting American issues such as police violence, the Black Lives Matter movement, and immigration. Researchers also note that the tactics have become more sophisticated and aggressive through the use of very realistic fake accounts impersonating US citizens.
The Spamouflage accounts analyzed by WP are increasingly posting about the war in the Middle East, and in July and August, they spread inflammatory rhetoric about Jews on the site X, which continued the rise of antisemitic content on social media following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Since July 1, 230 posts mentioning Jews in a negative context have been published on this social network by accounts linked to Spamouflage.
According to the analysis by Washington Post and data from senior US intelligence officials, China is increasingly attempting to influence US elections by using fake social media accounts to spread inflammatory, and sometimes outright antisemitic, statements and conspiracy theories about politicians. One of the covert influence operations targeted Republican Barry Moore, who is running to retain his seat in the House of Representatives. A China-linked account on the site X called Moore a "Jewish dog" and claimed he won the primaries thanks to a "bloody Jewish consortium." This topic was the subject of 75 posts. As the publication notes, Moore recently supported new sanctions against Chinese officials. Barry Moore is not Jewish, but in 15% of the Spamouflage network's posts on the site X about Jews, he is mentioned.
During the 2022 midterm elections, spam-linked accounts flooded Twitter with low-quality memes and tweets targeting Senator Marco Rubio, a known critic of China's policies. This year, an account linked to Spamouflage also posted a commissioned video on the site X about how Rubio embellished part of his family history, with the post garnering at least 8,885 views.
According to WP's analysis, posts on X from the Spamouflage network have grown from less than 60,000 views per week at the end of last year to 300,000 views per week currently. "They throw a lot of spaghetti at the wall, and sometimes a piece sticks," says Stubbs, director of intelligence at Graphika. "But a random piece of spaghetti sticking to the wall doesn't seem like a recipe for long-term success or impact."