A long-running Chinese influence operation is posing as American voters on social media in an attempt to exacerbate social divisions ahead of the 2024 presidential election, according to a new report from the research company Graphika.

The push by the campaign known as “Spamouflage” includes accounts claiming to be American voters and U.S. soldiers. They posted about hot-button topics including reproductive rights, homelessness, U.S. support for Ukraine, and American policy toward Israel. They criticized President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as well as former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party, and sometimes used artificial intelligence tools to create content.

The group of fake accounts Graphika identified is small — 15 accounts on X (formerly known as Twitter), one on TikTok, as well as a persona impersonating a U.S. news outlet across platforms. They claimed to be U.S. citizens or U.S.-focused activists “frustrated by American politics and the West,” the report said. With the exception of one TikTok video, they didn’t gain much traction with real users online.

Still, the activity underscores how China is “engaging in these more advanced deceptive behaviors and directly targeting these organic but hyper-sensitive social rifts” as part of a broader effort “to portray the U.S. as this declining global power with weak political leadership and a failing system of governance,” said Jack Stubbs, Graphika’s chief intelligence officer.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration seized Kremlin-run websites and charged two Russian state media employees in its most sweeping effort yet to push back against what it says are Russian attempts to spread disinformation ahead of the November presidential election.

The measures, which in addition to indictments also included sanctions and visa restrictions, represented a U.S. government effort just weeks before the November election to disrupt a persistent threat from Russia that American officials have long warned has the potential to sow discord and create confusion among voters. Washington has said that Moscow, which intelligence officials have said has a preference for Republican Donald Trump, remains the primary threat to elections even as the FBI continues to investigate a hack by Iran this year that targeted the presidential campaigns of both political parties.

“The Justice Department’s message is clear: We will have no tolerance for attempts by authoritarian regimes to exploit our democratic systems of government,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said.

TrueTexan wrote: Tue Sep 10, 2024 11:09 pm Did y’all hear Harris at the closing where she stated that she and Walz both owned guns and she would not try and take anybody’s guns.

featureless wrote: Tue Sep 10, 2024 11:29 pm

TrueTexan wrote: Tue Sep 10, 2024 11:09 pm Did y’all hear Harris at the closing where she stated that she and Walz both owned guns and she would not try and take anybody’s guns.

I read that. Problem is, she is on record all over the place supporting bans and buybacks. Hell, she single handedly managed a new model handgun ban for a decade in California via her lies about microstamping (post Heller, even, so you can see her disdain for constitutional jurisprudence she doesn't like).

Nomadsurfer wrote: Wed Sep 11, 2024 9:33 am I read the responses on Faux News, and MAGA is crying foul, defending and praising Trump…. Typical.

Trump came across as the old, bitter, prejudiced, angry and clueless person he is.

No accountability, no actual policy, just baseless claims and dog whistles to his base…. Yawn.

I’m a first generation immigrant. My wife’s family are Vietnam refugees. We are the American dream, and the message Harris sends is positive, and motivating. Not perfect but at least it’s forward looking.

Trump and MAGA hate our country. They complain about everything, and offer nothing positive.

I love this country, and the opportunity it provides for everyone. It completely turns me off to constantly be told that America sucks….

featureless wrote: Wed Sep 11, 2024 9:44 am
Thanks for this. It's probably the most important post in this thread to me.

Nomadsurfer wrote: Wed Sep 11, 2024 10:05 am

featureless wrote: Wed Sep 11, 2024 9:44 am
Thanks for this. It's probably the most important post in this thread to me.

It’s just a perspective. We forget just how lucky we are to live here.

Nomadsurfer wrote: Wed Sep 11, 2024 10:05 am

featureless wrote: Wed Sep 11, 2024 9:44 am
Thanks for this. It's probably the most important post in this thread to me.

It’s just a perspective. We forget just how lucky we are to live here.

Kamala Harris Campaign Calls For Second Debate

The Kamala Harris campaign immediately called for a second debate between the vice president and former President Donald Trump as Tuesday night’s debate on ABC News wound down.

“Under the bright lights, the American people got to see the choice they will face this fall at the ballot box: between moving forward with Kamala Harris or going backwards with Trump,” Harris’ campaign chair, Jen O’Malley Dillon, said in a statement. “That’s what they saw tonight and what they should see at a second debate in October. Vice President Harris is ready for a second debate. Is Donald Trump?”

Democrats and even a few Republicans viewed Harris’ performance during the debate in Philadelphia as superior to Trump’s, and the call for a second debate is likely intended as a show of confidence.

The Trump campaign has reportedly agreed to a debate on Sept. 25, to be moderated by NBC News.

The Harris campaign called Trump incoherent, angry and rattled during the debate, accusing him of having “zero plan for the everyday needs of Americans.”

CDFingers wrote: Wed Sep 11, 2024 11:19 am My dad was born in 1919 Germany and came here in 1926 as an illegal. Only his dad had papers because he came here for a job. My dad, his brother, and his mom got legal within about six years. Yes, I also grew up with the concept of America being a melting pot. I continue to see that as a strength and a good thing.

CDF