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Microsoft claims Chinese-affiliated actors are using ‘deceptive’ social media accounts to influence elections, shortly after the tech giant was criticised for a ‘cascade’ of avoidable errors that led to a massive breach last year.
A new report by Microsoft claims China is attempting to influence the upcoming US presidential election with the use of fake social media accounts and AI-generated content.
This claim comes from a Microsoft Threat Intelligence report, which suggests “deceptive” social media accounts by actors affiliated with the Chinese government are posting about “controversial US domestic issues” to possibly gain intelligence on key topics that divide US voters.
The tech giant claims the purpose of these posts is to sow division and “possibly influence the outcome” of the upcoming US election – and other national elections – in its favour
“As populations in India, South Korea and the US head to the polls, we are likely to see Chinese cyber and influence actors, and to some extent North Korean cyber actors, work toward targeting these elections,” Microsoft claimed.
The report also claims that there has been a rise in AI-generated content from Chinese-linked accounts in recent months, which are attempting to “influence and sow division” in multiple countries by commenting on various issues such as the train derailment in Kentucky and the Maui wildfires last year. Microsoft claims there is “little evidence” that these efforts have successfully swayed opinion.
“China’s geopolitical priorities remain unchanged but it has doubled down on its targets and increased the sophistication of its influence operations attacks,” Microsoft said.
This follows a report by Microsoft last September that claimed state-sponsored hackers in China were using AI-generated images as a way to spread misinformation and influence US voters.
Microsoft claims that in January 2024, there was a surge of AI-generated content from China-linked actors to influence the Taiwanese elections.
“This was the first time that Microsoft Threat Intelligence has witnessed a nation-state actor using AI content in attempts to influence a foreign election,” Microsoft claimed.
The Microsoft report comes amid a tense period between certain countries and China around cybersecurity. The UK and the US recently claimed that several cyberattacks targeting government entities and critical infrastructure were orchestrated by Chinese “state-sponsored” organisations and individuals.
Microsoft was recently criticised heavily in a report for its culpability in a massive hack last year by a China-linked group. The report claimed this breach was “preventable” and that a “cascade” of avoidable errors on Microsoft’s part allowed the intrusion to succeed.
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