On Friday, May 24, a social media intelligence firm revealed that fake accounts discussing the 2024 US presidential race are spreading on X (formerly Twitter).
Cyabra, an Israeli software firm that uses machine learning to identify fake profiles, revealed that 15% of X accounts praising Donald Trump and condemning Joe Biden are bogus. The analysis revealed that 7% of the X accounts are unreal.
Fake Accounts on X Aim to Shape Public Opinion Leading to 2024 US Elections
The firm examined tweets for two months, beginning in March, analyzing popular hashtags for good, harmful, or neutral posts. It found tenfold more bogus X accounts in March and April: 12,391 pro-Trump accounts out of 94,363, and 803 pro-Biden profiles out of 10,065 were found to be fake users.
Cyabra said that the fake pro-Trump accounts are part of a concerted operation to alter public opinion and internet debates. The examination identified matching hashtags and coordinated posting times but did not identify the campaign's perpetrators.
Moreover, the fake pro-Trump accounts posted messages urging to "Vote for Trump" and calling Joe Biden "the worst president the US has ever had."
Election authorities and internet disinformation specialists are once again monitoring false narratives before the November 5 election following reports that Russia interfered in the 2016 US elections.
X downplays the allegations of the proliferation of fake accounts on the online platform. The social media giant said in May 2022 that less than 5% of daily active users were "false or spam" after an internal assessment. However, Cyabra determined that 13.7% of Twitter profiles were fake.
Last month, X owner Elon Musk promised a "system purge of bots and trolls," stressing the need to track down culprits and apply the "full force of the law to bear upon them."
Furthermore, in October, X tested its "Not a Bot" tool in New Zealand and the Philippines to address the problem of spammers and bots.
Critics Blast X Content Moderation System
The FBI's recent warning about China, Russia, and Iran's attempts to influence the 2024 election is a significant development. While the report didn't specify the bogus accounts, it's clear that each US rival has its own election interference approach, all aiming to ignite frustration and undermine democracy, as reported by The Hill.
Elon Musk's decision to cut X's election integrity team last September, which was aimed at preventing election fraud, has sparked controversy. This move came less than a month after the firm's announcement to expand its safety and elections team to combat manipulation and fake accounts.
Activists have condemned Musk's efforts to moderate material, such as restoring former US President Donald Trump's account and changing hate speech regulations.
TechTimes recently reported that the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office charged a Louisiana political consultant allegedly behind the deepfake President Joe Biden robocall aimed to dissuade Democratic primary voters.
Steven Kramer, 54, faces 13 felony voter suppression charges and misdemeanor counts for impersonating a candidate after thousands of New Hampshire residents received a robocall to wait until November to vote.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) suggested a $6 million fine for the AI-generated deepfake Joe Biden robocalls on Thursday, May 23. It also sought a $2 million fine for Biden robocall sender Lingo Telecom.
New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella pledged to keep the US elections "free from unlawful interference" and continue their investigation.
