China has hired a hacking group to create fake content about election candidates to influence the outcome of elections in the US, India, and South Korea
So far there’s no evidence that their efforts have been successful
They had already done something similar in Taiwan’s presidential election. But fortunately, they couldn’t manipulate the voters
Microsoft announced that China is planning to use AI to disrupt elections in the US, India, and South Korea.
China already did a test run on Taiwan’s presidential election by trying to influence the outcome of the votes through an AI-backed misinformation campaign.
They obviously did not meddle with the elections directly. Instead, they employed a hacker group as they always do. The group is called Storm 1376, also known as Spamouflage or Dragonbridge, and is backed by Beijing.
The group first started posting fake audio on YouTube about election candidate Terry Gou. But then, he stepped down and proposed another candidate in November. So their next target was William Lai.
The group posted a series of memes against him, even accusing him of embezzling state funds just because he’s pro-sovereignty, which Beijing opposes. In one instance, he was also accused of hiding a secret family with an illegitimate child.x
However, their efforts failed and the voters chose Lai as their next president.
Read more: Meta decides to form a team to prevent AI from tampering with EU elections
How China Is Trying To Tamper With US & India Elections?
After failing to influence the Taiwanese people, China’s next target is the US. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has already created many fake social media accounts that regularly post questions/polls about the USA’s internal issues.
The purpose of these posts is to understand the main grievances of the voters. Then, that information is used to create AI-generated content that sows the seed of division in US voters.
A wide range of topics have been already talked about including:
The country’s immigration policy
Racial bias
Growing cases of drug abuse
The disposal of Japanese nuclear wastewater
The train derailment in Kentucky in November 2023, and so on
Although Indian voters are yet to be targeted with such misleading posts, the government has already started taking steps to quickly identify and remove false information.
For the same reason, last month a team from OpenAI met with the ICI to give a presentation on how they are planning to curb the misuse of AI during elections.
Read more: Guess what hackers are targeting now – water systems
Has China Been Successful In Swaying Public Opinion?
As we have seen from Taiwan’s elections, China hasn’t been very successful in swaying the voter’s opinions.
Even in the US so far, there’s little evidence that these fake posts are making any lasting impact. But it’s still a matter of concern. Microsoft has warned that although the influence of AI is low now, it can change in the future.
This won’t be the first time that AI has been used to meddle with elections. For example, before the 2024 New Hampshire Democratic primaries, many voters received an AI-generated call mimicking Joe Biden’s voice asking them to not participate in the votes. After this, the FCC banned AI-generated robocalls.
But what’s surprising this time is that an entire nation is openly interfering with another nation’s elections just so they could elect a leader that would support their long-term goals.
Day by day, China is getting bolder. It seems like their government isn’t even trying to hide the fact that they are backing hacking agencies to target other countries. Instances of cyber attacks backed by China are also at an all-time high. Without any prompt actions from other global leaders, the future seems grim.
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