A Graphika investigation has concluded that, as in 2024, “Spamouflage-linked accounts and inauthentic pro-China accounts on X are posing as U.S. voters and posting divisive content about U.S. politics, social issues, and the elections.” (“Spamouflage” being spam that the spammers try to disguise as non-spam.)
Graphika describes the various roles played by posters of the Spamouflage (October 30, 2026).
Some accounts pose as Americans; others post divisive content about U.S. politics, social issues, and the elections; and the remainder amplify and engage with the posted content. The activity closely resembles tactics we documented ahead of the 2024 US presidential election in The #Americans, indicating the approach remains in use.
In two of the three cases [of types of Spamouflage accounts], accounts with a history of typical Spamouflage activity, such as engaging with pro-China accounts on X and attacking Chinese dissident Guo Wengui and the Falun Gong spiritual group, shifted to U.S.-focused content. In the third, the operators appear to have taken over an authentic account, likely attempting to leverage its existing audience.
Examples:
@ghosolutions, which has anti-Falun Gong language in its bio, posted Spamouflage graphics targeting Falun Gong and Guo Wengui in 2023 and 2024. The account also reposted known Spamouflage accounts. The account began amplifying @JosiTaylorah’s content in 2024, often attempting to sow doubt and distrust in U.S. institutions and elected officials….
Coolture (@cooltureph_) presents as a Philippine culture blog that now posts pro-China and divisive U.S.-focused content. We did not find open-source evidence to determine whether the account was hijacked or whether the original operator sold or otherwise lost control of it. As of Oct. 30, the account has 201.6k followers, most of which likely accumulated before it was taken over, giving it an audience most Spamouflage personas lack. Its posts typically receive several hundred views, but only a few dozen likes, replies, and reposts….
It went dormant in August 2022, and resumed posting on Nov. 30, 2024, a few weeks after the U.S. presidential election. After returning, it began posting pro-China content in English, including a video from Chinese state media outlet CCTV celebrating Macao’s “return” to China, a tribute to Mao Zedong on his birthday, and support for the American Communist Party.
The Spamouflage tends to be characterized by sudden shifts in focus (as if an account had been sold or taken over); “inconsistent partisan personas” (e.g., posting of “pro- and anti-Trump content alongside support for the American Communist Party”); “Chinese-language artifacts” consistent with having typed a post in English on a Chinese-language keyboard; “closed amplification loops” of fake engagement “from a small set of accounts within each network” (“Spamouflage-linked accounts rarely engage with accounts outside the network, except to harass critics of the Chinese government and other targets”); and “content questioning election integrity and the legitimacy of U.S. democracy.”
One result of Graphika’s research appears to be the demise of the some of the X accounts it has discussed.
Also see:
Graphika: The #Americans (September 3, 2024)
The Washington Post: “A firehose of antisemitic disinformation from China is pointing at two Republican legislators” (October 10, 2024)
“The accounts are part of Spamouflage, China’s largest known covert influence operation, which often uses prolific distribution techniques to spread Chinese Communist Party talking points across the internet. Active since at least 2017, the network has posted on more than 40 internet platforms, according to the digital forensics research group Graphika.”
