Voters enter the polls to cast their ballots for the state’s primary election on March 5, 2024 in Oxford, Alabama. 15 states and 1 U.S.
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An army of Chinese-controlled social media bots is trying to sway voters in Alabama, Texas and Tennessee while discrediting Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, according to new research released Wednesday. Microsoft.
Experts say the operation was a coordinated effort to disrupt down-the-ballot races, with fake accounts discrediting Alabama Rep. Barry Moore, Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Ruby Oh, they’re all Republicans.
Microsoft said the network “repeated anti-Semitic messages, exaggerated corruption allegations and promoted opposition candidates.”
Researchers say the group, known as Prince Flood, has previously been linked to China’s Ministry of Public Security. The report noted that these lawmakers were targeted because of their history of condemning Chinese government policies.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In addition to this, the bot also criticized Moore for his support of Israel and used anti-Semitic language. Another set of related accounts claimed Rubio was part of a financial corruption scheme.
In September, U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump held a presidential debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio addresses the media before the presidential debate in October 2024.
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The bots amplified support for Blackburn’s campaign opponents while spreading the idea that she took money from pharmaceutical companies. They joined McCall in promoting claims that he engaged in insider trading.
Moore, McCaul and Blackburn are all up for re-election next month. Rubio, who serves as vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, will not be re-elected until 2028.
Microsoft researchers found that influence efforts did not lead to “high levels of engagement.” The report did not provide any measure of how many Americans viewed the social media posts in question.
Madison Green, a spokesman for Moore, said his office was aware of the activity.
“We know the Chinese Communist Party is anti-Semitic, so it’s not surprising that they are targeting me and other pro-Israel politicians in an attempt to sow division ahead of the most important election of our lifetimes,” Moore said.
He added: “China has made clear that they will use every weapon in their arsenal, including offensive cyber capabilities, to try to destroy democracy around the world.”
Spokespeople for the other three lawmakers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which is coordinating federal efforts to defend the election from foreign influence, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
