Security News > 2023 > April > US alleges China created troll army that tried to have dissidents booted from Zoom

"In the two schemes, the defendants created and used fake social media accounts to harass and intimidate PRC dissidents residing abroad," states the Department's announcement of the charges.

The DoJ alleges the Group ran a troll farm that "Created thousands of fake online personas on social media sites, including Twitter, to target Chinese dissidents through online harassment and threats."

"Group members created and maintained the fake social media accounts through temporary email addresses, posted official PRC government content, and interacted with other online users to avoid the appearance that the Group accounts were 'flooding' a given social media platform," the DoJ alleges.

The Group may even have had KPIs - Justice alleges members were offered rewards for operating troll accounts that went undetected.

A filing [PDF] details how Group 912 seconded staff from other Chinese government agencies, includes documents alleged to be rosters that ensured ten trolls were on duty, and includes screenshots of some of the fake Twitter accounts the group ran - usually featuring an avatar depicting an attractive young woman.

The filings include photos of spreadsheets the DoJ alleges were used by Group 912 to organise its troll accounts and track staff performance.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/04/18/us_vs_yunpeng_bai_julien_li/