Internet trolls backed by the Chinese Communist Party are reportedly posing as Americans on social media platforms including China’s TikTok and targeting U.S. voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
The Beijing-backed trolls have been pushing narratives on TikTok about a variety of issues including gun control, racial inequality, and the Israel-Hamas war, according to research reviewed by the Wall Street Journal.
Breitbart News previously reported that TikTok sent sensitive user data about Americans, including their opinions on gun control and abortion, to their Chinese communist overlords:
In a new filing, the DOJ notes that TikTok employees communicate internally with one another using a tool called Lark, and claimed that “significant amounts of restricted US user data (including but not limited to personally identifiable information)” was shared on this platform, according to a report by the Register.
“This resulted in certain sensitive U.S. person data being contained in Lark channels and, therefore, stored on Chinese servers and accessible to ByteDance employees located in China,” the DOJ continues in its filing.
The Chinese propaganda push reportedly targets both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. The Beijing-backed initiative also previously targeted President Joe Biden before he was ousted from his reelection campaign.
Researchers attribute the initiative to the prolific Chinese disinformation group, Spamouflage, Associated Press reported. The report was published Tuesday by the research firm Graphika.
“One of the world’s largest covert online influence operations, an operation run by Chinese state-linked actors, has become more aggressive in its efforts to infiltrate and sway U.S. political conversations ahead of the election,” Graphika chief intelligence officer Jack Stubbs said.
Adopting fake identities to pose as U.S. voters, the Chinese trolls mimic Americans engaging in political debate online in an attempt to control or sway the narrative.
One TikTok account alleged to be part of the Spamouflage initiative — known as “Harlan Report” — raked in 1.5 million views on a single post. When asked for comment, the individual behind the TikTok account refused to disclose their identity.
“In your world, I am a clown. Sorry, You cannot know my identity, nobody ensure my safety,” the TikTok user told the Wall Street Journal.
Following an inquiry from the news paper, TikTok banned Harlan Report from the platform. Breitbart News reviewed Harlan Report’s X account, which boasted 11,000 followers, finding that the account has since been suspended from Elon Musk’s social media platform as well.
Harlan Report reportedly posed as a 31-year-old conservative on X, with the hashtags #Patriotsunited, #MAGA, and Trump2024 in its bio.
Another investigation by the Wall Street Journal found TikTok promoting “thousands of videos with political lies and hyperbole to its users,” the newspaper added.
One network of anti-Trump videos, for example, was reportedly traced back to a web of overseas accounts that appeared to be operating from China, Iran, and Vietnam.
While China, Russia, and Iran have denied targeting or having targeted U.S. voters via clandestine internet activities, it is generally understood that foreign nations engage in online propaganda campaigns every election cycle.
Earlier this summer, American spy agencies reportedly noted that Iran desires to change the outcome of U.S. presidential race in order to prevent a second Trump presidential term.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
