My @ASPI_ICPC colleagues and I analysed a Chinese state-linked influence operation involving 23,000+ accounts on Twitter and related activity on Facebook. Instead of a thread on the report (which you should read!)....
aspi.org.au/report/retweet…
aspi.org.au/report/retweet…
I'm going to do a thread on the continuing activity targeting the #GeorgeFloyd #US protests.Some of this is in the report, most of it is newer. 
Two caveats up front: first, organic engagement with this campaign was super low. It’s interesting for what it tells us about the priorities and capabilities (or lack thereof) of those behind it, not because it was effective.
This research should IN NO WAY be used to undermine the authenticity or legitimacy of #BlackLivesMatter or the wider protest movement.
Second, it’s important to note that, unlike the accounts in the report, the accounts in this thread have not been officially attributed to Chinese state-linked actors. However, I think these new accounts are VERY FISHY. Let me tell you why…
Following Twitter’s takedown of 23,700+ accts & takedown of FB accts after @BenDoStrick’s research into the same activity, new suspiciously similar accounts began to appear.
Here are Facebook accounts created April 27-28 which all changed their profile pictures and began posting content highly similar to the campaign on May 18.
This rebuilding process coincided with the emerging #GeorgeFloyd protests in the US and worldwide, and this has become a focus of the activity. Twitter is actively taking down these accounts, but more pop up every day.
Facebook has not (yet) been as active in squashing accounts as they pop up. Some of these are repurposed older accounts, others are newly created. Periodically, they have succeeded in effectively dominating the #美国骚乱 (#AmericanRiots) hashtag.
One of the interesting developments over the past few days has been seeing some of the accounts move away from Chinese language hashtags onto mainstream hashtags like #BlackLivesMatter and #GeorgeFloyd, gaining at least a low level of organic engagement.
So how do we know that Ms. “nfayIQOJEY6SOhY” is not an authentic account? Let me be the first to admit I don’t know for sure, and it’s always good to be skeptical of claims of inauthenticity. Perhaps we should ask her identical sisters. All goodness-knows-how-many there are.
Activity also appears to be shifting away from #美国骚乱 (#AmericanRiots) to alternative hashtags like #美国 (#USA) on both Twitter and Facebook.
Spotted this interesting example in the last couple of days on Facebook, which appears to have chosen a profile picture as a direct reference to the protests. As yet it doesn't appear to be trying to flesh out a convincing persona, however.
They've even been jumping on the celebrity protest bandwagon (note the coordinated content across Facebook and Twitter).
Again, these accounts have not been officially attributed, so make up your own mind. For example, here's an account which shared a pro-Chinese propaganda video about Floyd (often mistranslated as Freud by Chinese auto-translate) within literally five minutes of becoming active.
The video was then shared by such luminaries as 'Phjfh' and 'Dvdgrg'.
It was also commented on in Chinese by Maria Sharapova, in what I assume is her undercover Facebook identity as "Jenny Serrano." Don't worry Maria, we'll keep your secret.
Sharapova isn't the only undercover athlete here. This account recently transformed from a gentleman into parkour athlete Katie McDonnell, for example. The use of repurposed accounts originally linked to Bangladesh has been a consistent feature of this activity on Facebook.
As I said above, this influence activity targeting the US and Hong Kong protests is interesting not because it is effective (it isn't, at least so far) but for what the attempt tells us about the priorities, capabilities and persistence of the actors behind it.
There's lots more like this in the report, so if you found this thread interesting, go read the report here: aspi.org.au/report/retweet…
