As the U.S. presidential election nears, concerns are rising over attempts by Iranian and Chinese actors to sway American public opinion using sophisticated social media manipulation techniques. According to a report by Nikkei Asia, these actors are leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to craft targeted messages aimed at influencing voters.
Nio Thinker Website Controversy
A notable example of this influence is the website Nio Thinker, which initially appeared to be a liberal U.S. platform. It was later revealed by a Microsoft report in August to be part of an Iranian-orchestrated influence campaign. Nio Thinker publishes content critical of Republican candidate Donald Trump and features unusual language such as “raving mad litigosaur” and “opioid-filled elephant,” suggesting manipulation efforts.
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The site also hosts content critical of Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate challenging Trump. One article states, “If the party’s presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, does not change her policy on Israel, I will not be casting a ballot for her.”
Iranian and Chinese Interference
In July, Meta, Facebook’s parent company, published a report detailing Iranian attempts to interfere in the U.S. election. According to the report, fraudulent accounts posing as tech support workers used phishing attacks via WhatsApp to steal information.
Additionally, OpenAI, the U.S. startup behind ChatGPT, has blocked social media accounts linked to Iranian threat actors who were using its generative AI platform to produce social media posts.
Historical Context of Influence Operations
Since 2017, the U.S. has faced numerous external threats from influence operations. Meta has recorded 39 campaigns originating from Russia, 30 from Iran, and 11 from China.
A notable case of potential Chinese interference involved a suspended X (formerly Twitter) account operated by a 43-year-old Los Angeles resident named Ben Affleck, who was posing as a Trump supporter. The account, which had nearly 8,000 followers, posted, “Liberals have made this country the laughing stock of the world. Get out and vote for Trump 2024 to save America!” X later suspended the account after determining it was a fraudulent “spamouflage” account operated by Chinese actors.
Comparison to Past Scandals
Such activities mirror past interference efforts, such as the 2016 Cambridge Analytica scandal, where the British consulting firm misused data from 87 million Facebook accounts to shape voter perceptions during that election.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Newsx staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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