Internet trolls backed by the Chinese Communist Party are reportedly posing as Americans on Chinese social media platforms such as TikTok to target U.S. voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Research has found that Beijing-backed trolls are spreading stories on TikTok about a range of issues, including gun control, racial inequality and the war between Israel and Hamas. Reviewed By The Wall Street Journal.
Breitbart News previously reported that TikTok sent sensitive user data of Americans, including views on gun control and abortion, to China's Communist Party masters.
In its new filing, the Department of Justice alleges that TikTok employees used a tool called Lark to communicate with each other internally and that “large amounts of restricted U.S. user data, including but not limited to personally identifiable information” were shared on the platform. Report By register.
“As a result, sensitive data of certain U.S. persons was contained in the Lark Channel, stored on servers in China, and accessible to ByteDance employees in China,” the Justice Department continued in the filing.
Chinese propaganda efforts have reportedly targeted both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. The Beijing-backed effort also targeted former President Joe Biden before he was ousted from his reelection campaign.
Researchers attributed the effort to Chinese disinformation group Spamouflage. ReportedThe report was released Tuesday by research firm Graphika.
“One of the world's largest covert online influence operations, run by a Chinese government entity, has become increasingly aggressive in its efforts to infiltrate and influence US political debate in the run up to the election,” said Jack Stubbs, chief information officer at Graphika.
Chinese trolls are using fake identities to pose as US voters and mimic Americans participating in political debates online in an attempt to control or sway public opinion.
A TikTok account purportedly involved in the spam-muggling operation (known as “The Harlan Report”) garnered 1.5 million views on one post. Reached for comment, the person behind the TikTok account declined to identify themselves.
“In your world, I'm a clown. Sorry, but you can't know my identity and no one can guarantee my safety,” the TikTok user said. The Wall Street Journal.
After inquiries from newspapers, TikTok removed the Harlan Report from its platform. Breitbart News has removed the Harlan Report from its platform. X AccountThe account, which boasted 11,000 followers, has since been suspended from Elon Musk's social media platforms as well.
The Harlan Report reportedly posed as a 31-year-old conservative on X and included the hashtags #Patriotsunited, #MAGA and Trump2024 in his profile.
A separate investigation by The Wall Street Journal found that TikTok promoted “thousands of videos containing political lies and hyperbole” to its users, the paper added.
For example, one network of anti-Trump videos was reportedly traced back to a network of overseas accounts believed to be operated from China, Iran and Vietnam.
China, Russia and Iran deny that they are or have ever targeted U.S. voters through covert internet operations, but it is public knowledge that foreign countries conduct online propaganda operations before every election.
Earlier this summer, US intelligence agencies reportedly indicated that Iran wanted to change the outcome of the US presidential election in order to prevent a second term for President Trump.
Alana Mastangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow her at Facebook And X is Followetc. Instagram.
