A Chinese threat actor is targeting the U.S. midterm elections by using fake social media accounts to dissuade Americans from voting.
Researchers from Mandiant say an influence campaign promoting the political interests of Beijing that’s been active since at least 2019 has lately taken to posting social media content casting doubt on voting’s efficacy and invoking the prospect of “civil war.”
Mandiant dubs the campaign Dragonbridge. Partisan dominance over the U.S. Congress for the next two years – it’s currently controlled by Democrats with a very slim majority – hinges on the outcome of nationwide voting that concludes on Nov. 8.
Foreign interference from authoritarian governments via social media and other means has been a danger facing elections across the United States and other democratic countries since 2016.
Some critics of social media companies contend online platforms are poorly incentivized to stop disinformation due to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, a law shielding online platforms from lability for user-generated content. The Supreme Court earlier this month agreed to hear a case challenging the scope of the law.
