Editor's note: this story was translated from the original VOA Mandarin article.
Social media platform X says it has suspended more than 13,000 accounts involved in suspected foreign influence operations linked to China, Russia and Iran that targeted U.S. political discourse ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.
In a statement posted on October 14, the platform said the networks used inauthentic accounts to post and amplify political content targeting candidates and public figures across the political spectrum.
X said its safety team uses a variety of detection methods to identify and address activity that violates the platform's rules, building on security measures that operate around the clock throughout the year.
“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and we are proud that X is the global town square where these debates happen,” the social media platform said. “Our job is to keep that conversation authentic, open, and safe.”
X said its authenticity policy plays a key role in efforts to combat spam networks and influence operations that use coordinated inauthentic behavior to undermine the integrity of the platform.
The company did not publicly provide evidence supporting its findings or specifying how many of the suspended accounts were linked to each country.
X also highlighted what it calls its civic integrity policy, which addresses misleading content that could affect participation in elections or other civic processes. The policy covers information that could confuse voters about how, when or where to participate, as well as content intended to discourage participation.
The platform said users can report potentially misleading content under the “Civic Integrity” category in its in-app reporting system. The company said its efforts to address election-related violations would continue through Election Day and beyond.
X is not the only platform to raise concerns about alleged Chinese influence operations.
On June 10, OpenAI said it had disrupted two online influence operations linked to China. The operations used ChatGPT to generate social media posts, comments and images in an apparent effort to shape U.S. debates over artificial intelligence, data centers, tariffs and technology policy.
OpenAI said in its report that the accounts used its models to support covert influence operations while concealing their origins and intentions. However, the company said the operations appeared to have limited impact, with no evidence that the content generated substantial authentic engagement or spread widely beyond the accounts involved.
President Donald Trump also has accused China of attempting to interfere in U.S. elections.
In a prime-time address in July, Trump warned that U.S. election infrastructure was vulnerable to foreign attacks, and he specifically accused China of trying to interfere in the 2020 presidential election. He did not provide evidence, though, that the election had been disrupted or that votes had been incorrectly counted.
Despite his warnings, the president did not publicly raise the issue of alleged Chinese election interference during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Washington last month.