China and the 2024 Election: Graphika Insights Featured by Washington Post

A new report from the Washington Post details intensifying efforts by China to influence the 2024 U.S. election.

Included in that article were a number of insights from Graphika's Chief Intelligence Officer, Jack Stubbs, focusing on Chinese state-linked influence operation Spamouflage and Graphika's recent groundbreaking report The #Americans.

Activity identified by the Washington Post and senior U.S. intelligence officials showed evidence of common Spamouflage tactics, such as using fake accounts on social media to spread divisive narratives.

Stubbs noted that the operation has become more aggressive leading into the upcoming election by creating accounts that are incredibly realistic, though notably do not favor one candidate over the other.

“What we’ve seen now is an attempt to create a believable persona that misleads people about who the account is,” he said in the report. “And that has been combined with this increased aggression in terms of the type of content that they’re seeding or amplifying as well.”

Stubbs however, made clear that the effectiveness of such efforts varies widely.

“They’re throwing a lot of spaghetti at the wall and occasionally a piece of it sticks,” Stubbs told the Washington Post team. “But the odd piece of spaghetti sticking to the wall doesn’t feel like a recipe for long-term success or impact.”