Pro-Donald Trump Twitter bots pile in on Joe Biden, Ron DeSantis, and Nikki Haley
Palm Beach, Florida - A network of fake pro-Donald Trump Twitter accounts have been discovered that praise the former president while attacking his rivals.
Cyabra, an Israeli tech firm, shared their findings with the Associated Press, estimating that the network may consist of hundreds of thousands of accounts.
"One account will say, 'Biden is trying to take our guns; Trump was the best,' and another will say, 'Jan. 6 was a lie and Trump was innocent,'" explained Jules Gross, the engineer who discovered the network. "Those voices are not people."
"For the sake of democracy, I want people to know this is happening," she added.
The fake Twitter accounts were found to have had a big influence on spreading the idea that Florida governor Ron DeSantis would be unable to defeat Trump in the 2024 Republican primaries, but could make a good running mate.
The bots also attacked former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who joined the race in February, and one account even called Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell a "traitor."
The accounts were reportedly created over the course of the past 11 months in three large batches. While the identity of the person or persons behind the campaign is unknown, it was determined it likely originated within the US.
Bot and fake accounts are becoming a threat to political discussion
The technique of using bots is similar to those used during the 2016 election cycle, where Russian hackers used bot accounts in an attempt to sway political discussion on social media.
Bots are used to amplify specific content, and can be used to make a candidate or an idea appear more popular than it actually is. It also tricks the algorithm of social media platforms to share the content more often.
Cyabra's report concluded, "Our understanding of what is mainstream Republican sentiment for 2024 is being manipulated by the prevalence of bots online."
Cover photo: IMAGO / Future Image