Pedro Pardo/AFP
- A new report from Microsoft shows how Chinese social media accounts have utilized AI.
- CCP-linked accounts have frequently shared AI-generated memes, audio, and videos online.
- The accounts target East Asian countries but also aim to influence US elections.
Microsoft warns in a new report that China will use AI-generated media to influence elections in East Asian countries and the US.
The report, released Friday by Microsoft Threat Intelligence, highlights several instances of AI-generated memes, videos, and audio created by Chinese propaganda actors to generate outrage and sway elections in East Asia.
Chinese government-linked accounts have also posted AI-generated pieces of media aiming to stoke chaos in the US, per the report.
The report notes an AI-generated picture that blamed the 2023 fires in Hawaii on a US-made "weather weapon," and another that aimed to sow mistrust in the government after a train in Kentucky derailed in November 2023.
Many of the Chinese social media messages ask their followers to comment about which presidential candidates they support. Microsoft suggested the "accounts could be operating to increase intelligence gathering around key voting demographics within the United States."
The report said the threat "remains low" for now but added that China's attempts "may prove effective down the line."
Microsoft's report comes several months after the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a threat assessment of China. "The PRC aims to sow doubts about US leadership, undermine democracy, and extend Beijing's influence," the ODNI report said.
The reports from ODNI and Microsoft both mention "Spamouflage" — Microsoft refers to it as "Storm-1376" — which are social media accounts linked to the Chinese Communist Party that share divisive and frequently AI-generated content.
The February ODNI report likened China's recent influence campaign to Russia's tactics in 2016 when its troll farms posted election disinformation ahead of the presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
Reuters reported in March that during his time as president, Trump authorized a CIA program to smear the Chinese government on social media.