Chinese State-Linked Influence Operation Spamouflage Masquerades

Chinese state-linked influence operation (IO) Spamouflage has become more aggressive in its efforts to influence U.S. political conversations ahead of the 2024 presidential election. This includes expanding its use of personas that impersonate U.S. voters on social media platforms and spreading divisive narratives about sensitive social issues in the U.S. Through Graphika’s ATLAS intelligence reporting, we identified 15 Spamouflage accounts on X and one account on TikTok claiming to be U.S. citizens and/or U.S.-focused peace, human rights, and information integrity advocates frustrated by American politics and the West. We also identified a cross-platform Spamouflage persona operating as an inauthentic U.S.-focused media outlet. In the run-up to the 2024 election, these accounts have seeded and amplified content denigrating Democratic and Republican candidates, sowing doubt in the legitimacy of the U.S. electoral process, and spreading divisive narratives about sensitive social issues including gun control, homelessness, drug abuse, racial inequality, and the Israel-Hamas conflict.