China going after down-ballot races: report reveals which lawmakers are in their crosshairs

U.S. adversaries are ramping up their election-interference efforts, and China is going aft anti-CCP down-ballot Republicans, according to a caller study by Microsoft. 

Russia, meanwhile, is continuing to smear Vice President Kamala Harris and her run with fake videos, and Iranian actors person been eyeing up election-related websites and mainstream media outlets.

Some of the misinformation campaigns prime up small traction, portion others are amplified by thousands of unwitting Americans. 

"With a peculiar absorption connected the 48 hours earlier and aft Election Day, voters, authorities institutions, candidates, and parties indispensable stay vigilant against deceptive and suspicious enactment online," Microsoft said successful its predetermination report. 

Iran, past week, built a fake online persona known arsenic "Bushnell's Men" calling connected American voters to beryllium retired the predetermination owed to some candidates' enactment of Israel's subject operations, the study found. 

Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn is moving for re-election with a harmless double-digit pb implicit her Democratic opponent. And yet China has deployed power actors to spell aft her online owed to her efforts to prohibition TikTok and combat the CCP. 

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China has targeted Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn successful her re-election race. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

In summation to Blackburn, China has taken a peculiar involvement successful 3 Republicans: Reps. Michael McCaul, Texas, Barry Moore, Ala., and Marco Rubio, Fla. 

"This is thing new. I've been informed earlier astir China trying to transportation retired a malign power run against me," Blackburn told Fox News Digital. 

"China gets upset with maine due to the fact that I judge that you've got China trying to spy connected our citizens," she went on. "You person them pushing information and harm toward our children. They bash not support their commercialized agreements erstwhile it comes to cultivation products and manufactured goods. And I talk retired astir this. I felt similar the Biden medication has treated China similar they're a person oregon a concern partner." 

The study recovered that successful precocious September, Chinese histrion Taizi Flood launched an online run criticizing Blackburn and promoting her opponent, authorities Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Tenn. 

One Flood station claimed that Blackburn "took $700,000 from opioid companies," referring to her run donations from pharmaceutical companies. 

In summation to Blackburn, China, led by Xi Jinping, above, has taken a peculiar involvement successful 3 Republicans: Reps. Michael McCaul, Texas, Barry Moore, Ala., and Marco Rubio, Fla. (Photo by Xie Huanchi/Xinhua via Getty Images.)

The CCP is besides going aft McCaul by accusing him of "abusing powerfulness for idiosyncratic gain." CCP-linked online posts accused McCaul of insider trading and pushing arguable bills. McCaul was sanctioned by China successful 2023 aft a sojourn to Taiwan. 

Flood-linked accounts besides went aft Moore, criticizing him for his enactment for Israel, with antisemitic language, according to the report. 

Unlike the Blackburn posts, Flood’s attacks connected Moore picked up steam online and were further amplified by different Flood assets. 

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Flood accounts attacked Rubio, who is not up for re-election, by accusing him of corruption. Microsoft has tracked power operations surrounding Rubio since 2022.

Russia, China and Iran person each denied claims that they meddle successful U.S. governmental affairs.

Iran, past week, built a fake online persona known arsenic "Bushnell's Men" calling connected American voters to beryllium retired the predetermination owed to some candidates' enactment of Israel's subject operations, the study found. (Photo by Iranian Leader Press Office/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Blackburn, who has been pushing for transition of her kids' online information measure and has agelong called for the banning of TikTok, called the fashionable video-sharing level a "spy mechanism." 

"What they're doing is gathering a database for each 1 of our children who are connected — and adults, excessively — that platform, and they are utilizing this to beryllium capable to way you, to show you, to power what you see, what you say, what you hear, what you deliberation and yet however you vote." 

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If Republicans instrumentality powerfulness successful the November elections, Blackburn said she would propulsion for them to prohibition each Confucius Institutes, oregon higher acquisition centers tally by CCP-affiliated scholars, clasp China "accountable for their relation successful pushing fentanyl connected our people" and admit Taiwan's independency from China. 

The U.S. does not formally enactment oregon admit Taiwan's independence, though it arms the tiny land ideology against an encroaching Chinese subject presence.