The world’s largest known online disinformation campaign reportedly targeted lawmakers, businesses, and residents on American soil and according to court documents it was created by the Chinese Communist Party.
A CNN report looked into documents from social media companies and court filings. It explains that the campaign operates through a network known as “Spamouflage” or “Dragonbridge.”
It works by launching an onslaught of social media posts across nearly every major platform publicly denouncing the target and in some cases, threatening violence.
Reaching out to law enforcement only goes so far. Social media platforms have sent out widespread ban waves to eradicate the accounts, but malicious actors create new ones en mass daily.
The State Department describes it as part of Beijing’s strategy to silence critics of the Chinese regime around the world. An effort the CCP pours billions of dollars into funding.
The network was first found over four years ago, but federal prosecutors and Meta linked the operation to Chinese police in recent months.