What is “Spamouflage”?

A Chinese-run influence operation is expanding its efforts to impersonate American voters online and spread divisive narratives ahead of the 2024 election, according to a report published Sept. 3 by network analysis firm Graphika. The disinformation campaign, known as “Spamouflage,” includes social media accounts across multiple platforms claiming to be U.S. citizens, soldiers, and a media outlet.

How are the accounts being used? The Chinese-run accounts do not appear to support one political candidate, but according to the Graphika report, the accounts posted content about politically charged issues including abortion, gun control, racial inequality, the Israel-Hamas war, and homelessness. Meanwhile, Iranian-run accounts are reportedly spreading disinformation about a variety of topics, including the Israel-Hamas war. U.S. officials also say that Russian actors are directly trying to influence the 2024 elections.

How are the accounts identified? Graphika used its AI-powered platform to pinpoint 15 Spamouflage accounts on X and one on TikTok that claimed to be U.S. citizens and/or U.S.-focused peace, human rights, and information integrity advocates. The accounts repeatedly used U.S.-related hashtags in their posts, reshared the same content from each other, and coordinated posts with other Spamouflage accounts on other platforms. Graphika reported that some of the content also involved an AI-generated avatar.

Is this a new phenomenon? Spamouflage has used thousands of accounts to spam mostly pro-China content across dozens of websites since at least 2017, according to an April report published by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD). Graphika has monitored the operation’s use of hijacked and fake accounts since 2019. The accounts began engaging with topics related to the American election leading up to the 2022 midterms, according to Graphika, and have increased those efforts since 2023.

What side is China taking? The ISD in April identified four accounts that were posting as supporters of former President Donald Trump. Graphika found accounts that were critical of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, along with a smaller number of accounts critical of Trump and the Republican Party. The variety of political stances suggests that the accounts are intended not to promote a specific presidential candidate but to disparage U.S. politicians more broadly.

Have the posts gained traction? While most of the accounts have failed to garner significant engagement with legitimate users, one fake account claiming to be a U.S. conservative media outlet collected 1.5 million views on one TikTok video. The account, called Harlan Report, repurposed footage from legitimate media outlets and amplified pro-Trump content. Graphika reported that the account changed its persona on X multiple times and posed as a military veteran, a 29-year-old male Trump supporter, and a 31-year-old Republican social media influencer. TikTok has banned the Harlan Report, and X suspended it.

Can the accounts be stopped? The fake accounts will likely expand their tactics using AI tools, according to the Graphika report, and will continue to impersonate influencers. China, Russia, and Iran are stepping up efforts to post content aimed at swaying American political discourse, according to a July memo from the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence.