Fake X accounts posting about presidential elections are proliferating, new research says

Fake accounts on social media platform X that posted about the US presidential election are spreading across the platform, a social media analysis reported by Reuters found.

Analysts at Israeli technology firm Cyabra used a machine learning subset of artificial intelligence to identify fake accounts and shared the report’s results with the media outlet ahead of the report’s release on Friday.

The company found that 15% of X accounts praising former President Trump and criticizing President Biden on the platform, formerly known as Twitter, are fake. Seven percent of accounts praising Biden and criticizing Trump are also fake.

The study examined posts over a two-month period beginning March 1. They looked at popular hashtags and determined whether the posts were positive, negative, or neutral.

During March and April, newly detected fake accounts increased up to tenfold, the analysis found.

Of the 94,363 profiles supporting Trump, 12,391 of them were considered inauthentic. Of the 10,065 accounts supporting Biden, 803 were inauthentic.

The report found that pro-Trump accounts were spreading two messages, one to “Vote for Trump” and another that “Biden is the worst president the US has ever had.”

Cyabra vice president Rafi Mendelsohn said there is a level of coordination in these messages, which suggests there is a “nefarious purpose” and a “complete operation” behind the creation of the accounts.

The accounts supporting Biden were not part of a coordinated campaign, the report said.

While the report does not address the origin of the fake accounts, the FBI warned that China, Russia and Iran are among the foreign adversaries trying to influence the 2024 elections.

Each adversary has its own approach to interference, but all aim to sow discord and undermine democracy, an FBI official said earlier this month.

Billionaire Elon Musk purchased the platform in 2022, changing the name from Twitter to X and introducing several changes to the widely used social platform.

Last September, Musk made cuts to X’s election integrity team, which seeks to prevent election interference and manipulation on the platform. The announcement came less than a month after the company announced it would expand its security and elections team to focus on manipulation and inauthentic accounts.

Activist organizations have criticized Musk for changes made to the platform’s content moderation, including the decision to reinstate Trump’s account and changes to hate speech policies.

Updated at 9:51 a.m. EDT

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