China's Massive Online Disinformation Campaign Targets Americans: Unveiling CNN's Review

According to court documents and public disclosures by social media companies, in an alarming revelation, it has been discovered that the Chinese government has established the largest online disinformation operation in the world. This operation is being utilized to harass residents, politicians, and businesses in the United States, with instances where the targets have even been threatened with violence. The evidence presented in documents highlights the systematic and audacious nature of the Chinese government's intimidation campaign against individuals in the United States.

The US State Department asserts that these tactics form a larger multi-billion-dollar endeavor aimed at manipulating the global information landscape, while also stifling critiques of Beijing. This initiative has seen significant growth during President Xi Jinping's tenure. On Wednesday, President Biden is scheduled to hold a summit with Xi in San Francisco.

The targets of these tactics endure an overwhelming deluge of social media posts, numbering tens of thousands, which label them as traitors, dogs, and subject them to racist and homophobic insults. This systematic campaign aims to instill an ongoing sense of fear and paranoia within the victims.

Many of these victims are unsure of where to seek help. Some have reached out to law enforcement, including the FBI, but unfortunately, not much action has been taken. Despite tech and social media companies shutting down numerous accounts targeting these victims, they are constantly overwhelmed by the continuous emergence of new accounts.

Referred to as "Spamouflage" or "Dragonbridge," these extensive networks consist of hundreds of thousands of accounts spread across all major social media platforms. Their purpose is not only to harass Americans who criticize the Chinese Communist Party but also to discredit US politicians, defame American companies that oppose China's interests, and manipulate online discussions worldwide to portray the CCP negatively.

The network has been monitored by private researchers for over four years, but it is only recently that federal prosecutors and Meta, the parent company of Facebook, have publicly acknowledged its ties to Chinese police. In August, Meta revealed that it had dismantled a cluster of nearly 8,000 accounts associated with this group in the second quarter of 2023 alone. Google, the owner of YouTube, stated that it had taken down over 100,000 related accounts in recent years, and X (formerly known as Twitter) has blocked hundreds of thousands of China "state-backed" or "state-linked" accounts, as stated in company blogs.

Despite the relatively affordable nature of these operations, disinformation experts caution that the Chinese government will persist in employing these strategies to shape online conversations in alignment with the CCP's preferred narrative. This often involves undermining the US and democratic values.

According to Rep. Mike Gallagher, chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP, this issue is not limited to specific chatrooms or platforms, but rather it is widespread. It is only a matter of time before it affects the everyday American citizen who may not perceive it as their concern currently.

Trolling for a living

In January 2021, during an anti-communism Zoom event organized by activist Chen Pokong, trolls disrupted the proceedings, leaving no doubt in Chen's mind about their identity. These trolls not only ridiculed the participants, but they also issued threats, going as far as predicting the miserable demise of one individual. This deplorable behavior reminiscent of Chinese government repression struck a chord with Chen, who had previously endured five years of imprisonment in China for his pro-democracy endeavors.

But his suspicions about the interruption's orchestrator were confirmed when, earlier this year, the US Department of Justice pressed charges against over 30 Chinese officials. These officials were accused of orchestrating an extensive disinformation campaign that aimed to target dissenters, including participants of the Zoom meeting Chen claims to have hosted in 2021.

Chen Pokong in a recent interview with CNN.

CNN

The Justice Department revealed multiple indictments in April, uncovering supposed Chinese government schemes aimed at silencing and undermining individuals critical of China, thus challenging the sovereignty of the United States. In New York City, two alleged Chinese operatives were accused of operating an unauthorized police station. Additionally, an indictment from the previous year detailed Chinese agents' alleged attempts to thwart the congressional campaign of a Chinese dissident. Chen, who was forcibly removed from a meeting amidst the disturbance, remarked, "It feels like they are not only targeting me but also assaulting America's freedom of speech."

The DOJ complaint filed against officers from China's Ministry of Public Security identifies 34 individuals and includes photographs of them allegedly engaging in a disinformation campaign called the "912 Special Project Working Group." The operation, primarily based in Beijing, is believed to involve numerous officers from the MPS across the country. According to an FBI agent's affidavit, the investigation revealed that the group uses fake accounts to manipulate public perceptions of China and target specific victims with threats, harassment, and intimidation.

Upon inquiry regarding Spamouflages' alleged connections to Chinese law enforcement, Liu Pengyu, the spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, refuted these claims.

A report published by Meta in August reveals a correlation between the posts on their network and the working hours in China. The report highlights frequent bursts of activity in the late morning and early afternoon, aligned with Beijing time. Following breaks for lunch and dinner, there is another surge of activity in the evening.

Furthermore, Meta's findings and those of other researchers indicate a centralized coordination in China. This coordination persistently promotes identical messages across multiple social media platforms, often targeting individuals who have expressed criticism towards the Chinese government.

Jiayang Fan, a journalist for The New Yorker, encountered harassment from the network while reporting on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2019.

Jiayang Fan, a US-based journalist, says the online harrassment against her began when she covered the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

CNN

Fan has been the target of various attacks, including cartoons depicting her whitening her face to disown her identity, as well as allegations that she murdered her mother for personal gain. According to Darren Linvill from Clemson University's Media Forensics Hub, these attacks bear the unmistakable marks of the Spamouflage network. Linvill's team discovered over 12,000 tweets attacking Fan using the hashtag #TraitorJiayangFan. Despite not residing in China for many years, Fan suspects that these messages are aimed at instilling fear and intimidating others into silence.

Evolving tactics

Chinese experts who monitor online influence campaigns have observed a shift in China's strategy over the past few years. Previously, the focus of the Spamouflage network was primarily on domestic issues pertaining to China. However, more recently, the same network has been engaging in activities that aim to create controversy on global matters, including events taking place in the United States.

According to a cybersecurity firm called Mandiant, the Spamouflage accounts, some of which posed as residents of Texas, encouraged protests against the construction of a rare-earths processing facility in Texas. These accounts also spread negative messages about a separate American manufacturing company. Last year, Mandiant's report highlighted how this campaign promoted detrimental content concerning the Biden administration's efforts to expedite mineral production, ultimately reducing the United States' dependence on China.

According to a Meta report in August, previous posts from the network have made references to racism being a stain on American democracy and the US being responsible for cultural genocide against the Indians. Additionally, one post alleged that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is associated with numerous scandals.

The tactics and themes of spamouflage are continuously evolving.

According to a Department of Homeland Security report obtained through a records request, Chinese government-linked accounts have posted messages calling for the "killing" of President Biden. They have also shared a cartoon depicting the QAnon Shaman, who participated in the US Capitol riot, as a representation of "western style democracy." Another post by these accounts suggested that US defense contractors benefit from the deaths of innocent individuals. Ben Nimmo, global lead for threat intelligence at Meta, has highlighted these concerning actions.

Chinese officials were accused in a DOJ complaint of exploiting the second anniversary of George Floyd's death to highlight law enforcement brutality in the US through social media posts. Additionally, they were given instructions to focus on the 2022 US midterm elections and criticize American democracy. Ben Nimmo, the global lead for threat intelligence at Meta, emphasized the evolving tactics and themes of spamouflage, stating the need to continuously raise defenses and educate the public, particularly as the election year approaches.

However, despite social media companies' efforts to combat disinformation and the US government's legal actions against the accused individuals, holding them accountable remains challenging. According to Lindsay Gorman, the head of technology and geopolitics at the German Marshall Funds Alliance for Securing Democracy, this difficulty in prosecuting cybercrimes is a common issue.

However, according to Gorman, this does not imply that China will face no repercussions.

Flooding social media

According to reports from Meta, Google, and other companies, the majority of social media accounts in the network featured in Spamouflage experience minimal to no engagement, resulting in rare occurrences of viral content.

According to Linvill from Clemson University, the network has a distinctive approach of overwhelming conversations by flooding them with numerous comments, causing posts by real users to receive less attention. Surprisingly, they even utilize platforms like Pinterest, which are not typically associated with spreading disinformation.

When Beijing hosted the 2022 Winter Olympics, human rights organizations utilized the hashtag #GenocideGames to draw attention towards allegations of China's detainment of over a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in internment camps. However, to their astonishment, accounts that Linvill and his colleagues initially classified as Spamouflage also began tweeting the same hashtag.

Spreading a hashtag that shed light on the human rights abuses of the Chinese government would seem contradictory for a pro-Chinese government group, according to Linvill. However, Spamouflage managed to minimize the visibility of legitimate messages by repeatedly utilizing the hashtag in unrelated tweets.

CNN was given a demonstration by Jiajun Qiu, an academic specializing in elections who escaped China in 2016, on the consequences of searching for his name on X, formerly known as Twitter. Numerous accounts often impersonated him by employing his name and picture.

Jiajun Qiu, who fled China in 2016, has faced an onslaught of Spamouflage trolls.

CNN

They are designed by the operators of Spamouflage, Linvill explained, to confuse people and prevent them from finding Qius real account by muddying the waters.

Residing in Virginia now, Qiu operates a YouTube channel dedicated to promoting democracy. However, he has been subjected to a barrage of homophobic, racist, and peculiar insults from social media accounts that Linvills team and others have linked to Spamouflage. These accounts have shared cartoons portraying Qiu as an insect collaborating with the US government, being crushed by a cartoon Jesus, and being controlled like a dog by an American rat.

Qiu claims that people resort to insulting him when he candidly tells them the truth.

Linvill and his team have meticulously monitored numerous cartoons on the internet, deeming them as indicators of Spamouflage. Linvill further explains that cartoons have a greater impact than text due to their visually appealing nature, compelling viewers to pause and take notice. Moreover, these original cartoons can be effortlessly translated into numerous languages at a minimal expense.

In addition to the online smears, Qiu has received threats through various other online messages and escalating calls from unknown sources that he believes have connections to the Chinese government. One anonymous message warned him that he would be arrested and face legal consequences for violating Chinese law. In an email, his church in Manassas, Virginia was referenced, and he was advised to find an alternative place to stay for his safety and the safety of other worshippers.

Qiu informed CNN that he has been interviewed by the FBI four times regarding these threats and has been instructed to contact local law enforcement if he ever notices someone following him.