US campus protests being weaponized by foreign actors ahead of elections

ISD’s Director of Research, Melanie Smith, spoke to Bloomberg and the New York Times about foreign actors’ online activity regarding protests about the Israel-Gaza conflict on US campuses. She explained that Chinese influence campaigns including the ‘Spamouflage’ network appear to be weaponizing the protests, capitalizing on the portrayal of the United States as beset with social and political turmoil. Specifically, we recently noted a change in Spamouflage’s tactics: accounts were being used to pose as right-wing Americans.

“Chinese and Russian actors are capitalizing on the perceived unpopularity of Western policy towards Gaza,” Melanie told Bloomberg. Their aim is “to push the idea of an alternate global power structure with themselves at the helm.”