Chinese state researchers are planning to use AI models to map how to target susceptible Americans and change their votes.
Posted by Bannon`s War Room, Checked
- Sources
- 8 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 35%
Bannon`s War RoomAug 17, 2026
The only sources describing Chinese state-linked research on targeting susceptible Americans are two items by the same outlet (Natalie Winters' Substack and her X thread), which are unrated and not independent of each other.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… So, this is, again, like, Swawal, it's one small example, part of a broader thing. But the bigger thing here, and if we have time, we'll get into it after the break, is how this all converges, which is forthcoming exclusive: that Chinese state researchers are mapping how to target, quote, susceptible Americans and influence their votes. They're using these LLMs and these AI models to get all this public source information about Americans, particularly from social media posts and the voter files, all the publicly available information, creating mock Americans, and then figuring out the best …
Bannon`s War Room · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Context. The only sources describing the specific Chinese-language studies (a Tsinghua paper on classifying Americans by 'degree of susceptibility' and a PLA-linked publication) are two items by the same author, Natalie Winters, so they are not independent corroboration.[5][6]
Context. Independent reporting documents Chinese state-linked AI influence operations aimed at Americans, such as ChatGPT-generated campaigns attributed to a Chinese provincial contractor and CGTN's AI-generated videos, but none of these addresses research on mapping susceptible voters.[3][4]
Context. CFR says China's US election influence has been smaller in scale than Russia's and focused on down-ballot candidates critical of Beijing, and that AI could make such operations more effective, without reporting on any planned voter-targeting research.[7]
Context. Other sources on foreign AI-enabled election influence, including Microsoft's 2024 findings on Chinese bot networks and the Brennan Center's 2026 analysis, describe general capabilities and past operations rather than the specific research the claim describes.[1][2][8]
Sources
8 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 1 primary, 1 tier 2, 4 not rated
- 1Chinese influence operation targets US down-ballot races ...reuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2How generative AI could help foreign adversaries influence ...politifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3Technology-Enhanced Authoritarianismcecc.gov · primary source · cited for: context
- 4AI Is a Great Tool for Dictatorshipstheatlantic.com · tier 2 · cited for: context
- 5Chinese State Researchers Mapped How To Target ...nataliegwinters.substack.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 6PLA and CCP-linked research maps a blueprint for ...x.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 7Are the U.S. Midterms Vulnerable to Foreign Meddling?cfr.org · not rated · cited for: context
- 8AI Is Changing Foreign Election Influencebrennancenter.org · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- Tsinghua University published a 2024 study on artificial intelligence and American elections that discusses using AI to influence political persuasion.Can’t tell
- Chinese research models calculate they can improve American public opinion of the Chinese government and Communist Party by an average of 14 percentage points.True
- The PLA National Defense University is developing brain control weapons that use browsing histories, shopping records, and social activity to identify susceptible individuals.Can’t tell
- The Chinese Communist government acquired 220 million voter role records.Mixed
- Companies that make 80% of electronic voting machines have acknowledged that parts of their machines are made in China.True