One Year Cross-Platform Analysis of Troll Activities and Foreign Influence in 2024 U.S. Presidential Election

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Executive Summary

A one-year observation (October 2023 – November 2024) of coordinated information manipulation during the U.S. pre-election period revealed signs of foreign interference, including the evidence of involvement from Russia and China. We identified three critical insights:  

  1. The narratives and strategies of troll groups frequently echoed Russian or Chinese state media.  
  2. One of the main strategies was to shape candidates as colluding with Russia, spread the impression that the U.S. would be controlled by authoritarian regimes regardless of the election outcome and polarize American politics, further dividing society. They accused both Trump and Biden-Harris of colluding with Russia, criticized U.S. economic and foreign policies, and exploited topics like border and immigration issues to erode trust in both parties.
  3. Besides U.S. domestic manipulation, troll groups also targeted foreign topics especially on NATO, EU tariffs, and U.S.-China relations. The narratives undermine the relationship of Western alliances, attack the policies against China, and describe China as a victim of U.S. aggression.

Our in-depth analysis revealed main troll groups—YouTube @72, Facebook @70033, TikTok @144, and X @10946—dominating the coordinated operations landscape. These groups consistently drove narratives on key events, including Trump’s immunity, the assassination attempt, Trump’s interview with Elon Musk on X, and border and immigration issues. 

YouTube@72, Facebook@70033’s and TikTok@144 troll volume consistently contributed to more than 20% collaborated troll activities at YouTube, 17% at Facebook, and 13% at TikTok. Although the troll volume of X@10946 is 2% on average, it still ranked first in most of the main events. These four troll groups consistently ranked as the first or second most active troll groups on associated platforms. In contrast, Weibo coordinated is operated by multiple account groups. 

We can further trace back the troll group with evidence of foreign influence: 

  1. X@10946 targeted not only U.S. election issues around Trump’s threats but also the narratives attacking NATO allies in February 2024, echoing Russian state media. The accounts distributed the information attacking the U.S.’s commitment to NATO and destroying the trust within the democratic alliance. X @10946 took advantage of distorting Trump’s statement by emphasizing his disregarding NATO members’ interests, pro-Russia image with strong attempt undermining American unity and NATO cohesion.
  2. Weibo trolls usually represent the official tendency of state media. We had observed the leading manipulation followed by YouTube@72. The narratives actively attacked the EU’s tariffs against Chinese EVs. They claimed US fears of China’s growing EV sector and to externalize China’s economic challenges by presenting China as a victim of US competition. Moreover, Weibo trolls consistently framed the US election as a “civil war,” claiming American decline regardless of the winner and characterizing U.S. democracy as a facade for imperialism.
  3. YouTube@72 echoed Weibo’s troll strategies and rescued Chinese EV by criticizing US tariff policies against Chinese EVs. It provokes the US and EU citizens with potential financial burden due to the tariff. The account group also claimed the US leveraged the EU to confront China, and customers are victims of US’s competition against China.
  4. Facebook @70033 manipulated the narrative surrounding Trump’s proposal to impose tariffs on China, as reported by the South China Morning Post. The group criticized Trump by highlighting his business’s ties to China and profiting from PPE sales, portraying hypocrisy in light of his anti-China stance. Additionally, they undermined Trump’s economic leadership by comparing Black unemployment rates, arguing that Biden’s administration had lower unemployment than Trump’s.
  5. TikTok @144 echoed Russian state media’s criticism of U.S. foreign policy. Both criticized the allocation of resources to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan while neglecting domestic issues like the southern border. Russian state media focused on Democratic lawmakers, while TikTok @144 broadly attacked the government’s misuse of taxpayer money, aiming to deepen divisions by framing the U.S. government as prioritizing international over domestic concerns.

Other key events participated by the troll account groups are the following:

  1. Five major troll groups’ early operations (pre-June) focused on Trump’s immunity issues and Biden’s health concerns. After July’s “Trump Assassination Attempt”, narrative marked a significant shift, where trolls expanded from Supreme Court criticism to questioning government legitimacy and gun rights issues.
  2. The Trump-Harris campaign launch in late July triggered another surge in coordinated activities. Operations expanded to include conspiracy theories about Jewish control of American politics through the “Tim Walz VP Candidate” narrative, while using Musk as a focal point during the “Trump-Elon Live Interview” to suggest threats to social stability.
  3. Foreign interference intensified in September through two main strategies: YouTube @72, Facebook @70033, and TikTok @144 portraying both candidates as “colluding with Russia,” while X @10946 focused on dismissing Russian interference concerns while highlighting the “Hunter Biden laptop” controversy. Weibo @2526 uniquely employed both strategies through sarcastic amplification of Putin’s alleged support for both candidates.
  4. October operations shifted toward domestic issues – candidates’ health, immigration, disaster response, and wealth inequality. Following reports of Chinese state-backed hacking targeting campaign communications, post-election activities on Weibo intensified significantly. These operations promoted narratives about inevitable U.S. social division and decline, while questioning the integrity of leadership transition through narratives about Biden’s sudden “mental recovery” and Harris’s electoral defeat.

In addition to the main troll groups mentioned above, YouTube @72002 and X@3778 were found to have clear connections with Russia and China during the election period. They engaged in discussions about the Ukraine-Russia war and the Israel-Palestine conflict, criticizing U.S.-aligned countries like Ukraine, Israel, and NATO, while expressing support for authoritarian regimes.

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