Taiwan AI Labs Releases One Year Cross-Platform Analysis on Foreign Interference in U.S. Elections
[December 4, 2024] — Taiwan AI Labs has released a year-long observational report today, shedding light on extensive foreign influence operations targeting the U.S. presidential election. The report presents substantial evidence indicating interference by foreign actors, including Russia and China, aiming to propagate the narrative that the United States will fall under authoritarian control regardless of the election outcome. These tactics exacerbate polarization within the U.S. political landscape, intensifying societal division and posing a threat to democratic integrity.
Utilizing Taiwan AI Labs’ cognitive security tool, Infodemic, the report analyzed data from October 2023 to November 2024 across major social platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, X, Weibo, and TikTok. It examined 383 key narrative battlegrounds and scrutinized 330 reports from state-affiliated media outlets in Russia and China.
Key Narratives Exploited: Anti-Semitism, Foreign Election Interference, Immigration, Judicial Cases, and Gun Violence Fuel U.S. Decline Narratives
The report identifies major themes exploited by coordinated troll groups, including anti-Semitic conspiracies, immigration issues, judicial controversies, and narrative of American decline. Specific focus areas included:
From October 2023 to June 2024, Five major troll groups’ early operations 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.
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.
Foreign interference intensified in September through two main strategies: Troll groups on YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok portraying both candidates as “colluding with Russia,” while troll groups on X focused on dismissing Russian interference concerns while highlighting the “Hunter Biden laptop” controversy. Troll groups on Weibo uniquely employed both strategies through sarcastic amplification of Putin’s alleged support for both candidates.
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.
Troll Groups Amplify State Media Narratives to Undermine Trust in Democratic Alliances
The report highlights three main strategies used by troll groups to align with state-affiliated media narratives:
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 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 issues, 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.
Taiwan AI Labs emphasizes the importance of addressing complex, cross-platform information warfare in the digital age. The findings highlight the urgent need for robust cognitive security solutions to safeguard democratic processes globally.
Full Report Link:One Year Cross-Platform Analysis of Troll Activities and Foreign Influence in 2024 U.S. Presidential Election
For further information or media inquiries, please contact:
Ellie Chen
Public Relations, Taiwan AI Labs
Email: wanhsin.chen@ailabs.tw
About Infodemic
Infodemic is a cognitive security tool developed by Taiwan AI Labs that monitors information in real time across social platforms. Utilizing AI technology, it aims to uncover information manipulation and coordinated actions, prevent the spread of malicious content, and identify the strategies employed by coordinated account groups.
The Infodemic platform leverages FedGPT to expose information manipulation, reveal coordinated behaviors, trace the spread of harmful content, and recognize the narrative tactics used by coordinated groups. Through its cognitive security scanning system, organizations can verify any type of content—whether URLs, images, videos, or even sentences. By simply inputting data and initiating a scan, the system determines if the content is organic or the product of malicious actors exploiting platform algorithms to manipulate public perception.
Upon detecting coordinated activity, the platform provides detailed insights into malicious networks, hidden agendas, and bot activities operating across the internet and social media. With comprehensive infographics, organizations can easily navigate the complex landscape of information warfare and assess its impact. Additionally, the system explores potential connections between these actors and foreign entities.
About Taiwan AI Labs
Taiwan AI Labs is dedicated to developing internationally trusted AI solutions through open algorithms, open-source code, and federated learning. Leveraging Taiwan’s talent, semiconductor industry strengths, and extensive healthcare data, the organization drives advancements in smart healthcare, human-machine interfaces, and generative AI.
Under the principles of trustworthy AI, Taiwan AI Labs effectively integrates generative AI into solutions such as smart healthcare, federated learning, AI virtual anchors, future scenario-generating studios, and news analysis platforms. In the human-machine interface field, the lab develops AI music generation, speech recognition, and semantic understanding technologies. These innovations address globally critical issues like disinformation and fake news, mapping the patterns of information manipulation. Our research has sparked international interest, receiving recognition and publication in leading scientific journals.
