In a major crackdown against state-sponsored disinformation, social media platform X (previously known as Twitter) has removed thousands of accounts with suspected ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The accounts were involved in a coordinated effort aimed at boosting articles that attacked Shen Yun Performing Arts, an investigation by The Epoch Times finds.
Based in New York, Shen Yun has been the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company since 2006. Featuring eight equally-sized troupes that tour and perform across the globe simultaneously, the company aims to showcase 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture and heritage through vibrant, immersive performances.
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A coordinated smear campaign
Over the past eight months, The New York Times (NYT) published 10 articles targeting Shen Yun, eight of which were translated into Chinese, The Epoch Times found. But what’s concerning is how the stories were being heavily promoted on X by accounts exhibiting sketchy activity.
For example, one of the articles was artificially amplified to become the “most shared” NYT article on X in more than a year, according to BuzzSumo — a social media analytics tool. Dubbed a “nation-state automated bot attack,” by cybersecurity expert Rex Lee, the campaign exhibited all the signs of a coordinated and targeted smear attack.
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After conducting an extensive investigation into the unusual social media activity, The Epoch Times provided the findings to X. In response, the platform launched its own probe, which resulted in the removal of thousands of these fake accounts.
X’s investigation and response
“We take reports like these very seriously and continue to action millions of accounts per week for platform manipulation and spam violations,” said Dave Heinzinger, X’s head of media strategy, in an emailed response to The Epoch Times.
Upon reviewing the accounts that amplified anti-Shen Yun articles, X suspended more than 96 percent of those with one or no followers. However, enforcement was less consistent for accounts with larger followings, leading The Epoch Times to manually review and report additional accounts — 75 percent of which were later suspended or restricted by X.
Casey Fleming, senior intelligence and cybersecurity expert and CEO of Black Ops Partners, warned that the CCP’s meddling of social media should be a “wake-up call” for all democratic societies. “That shows you the trend and the brazenness of the CCP, that they’re no longer just operating in the shadows,” he told The Epoch Times.
A thorn on the CCP’s side
Shen Yun was founded by Falun Gong practitioners — an ancient spiritual discipline based on the teachings of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. But since its inception, the CCP has viewed both Shen Yun and Falun Gong as threats, especially since both groups have exposed the regime’s numerous human rights abuses. Falun Gong has also been viciously persecuted in China since 1999.
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According to multiple whistleblowers with high-level access to the CCP’s security apparatus, Chinese leader Xi Jinping launched a massive overseas campaign in 2022 aimed at discrediting Falun Gong. The campaign harnessed the power of Western outlets and social media platforms to shape and influence public perception.
Whistleblowers revealed that the CCP’s intelligence networks collect data to craft narratives against Falun Gong and Shen Yun. Some of these individuals identified operatives working directly with the NYT to assist in its reporting against Shen Yun. The NYT has not responded to requests for comment regarding these allegations.
Harnessing social media
The CCP has long been known to exploit Western social media platforms through a mix of automated bots and paid human operators, such as the so-called “50-cent Army,” The Epoch Times found. More advanced disinformation campaigns are believed to be run directly by CCP operatives or the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
According to a 2023 report by Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, more than 50 platforms were identified and dismantled in a vast network of CCP-linked accounts. Described as “the largest known cross-platform covert influence operation in the world,” the operation was designed to manipulate public opinion, interfere in political discussions, and discredit groups critical of the CCP.
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One such network, known as “Spamouflage,” was found to be interfering in U.S. political discussions and attacking human rights groups critical of the CCP, according to Graphika — a firm that tracks online disinformation.
The role of AI in bot operations
The efficiency of CCP-run influence operations has also increased thanks to artificial intelligence (AI), the report finds. By enabling the creation of large-scale bot networks, these AI-powered platforms are able to generate usernames, bios, and even profile pictures.
The Epoch Times also found that many accounts involved in boosting the NYT articles displayed telltale signs of inauthenticity, including having little to no followers, engaging in repetitive posts, and commenting on only anti-Falun Gong posts.
“There’s also an echo chamber effect, where some bots operate in networks, retweeting, liking each other’s posts,” said Lee.
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