Fake MAGA accounts spread

Ahead of the midterms, pro-Trump AI-generated avatar accounts have proliferated widely across TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

• The NYT identified 304 TikTok accounts tracked since January, some of which have already disappeared.
• Purdue GRAIL researchers found 12 additional accounts on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, while an Alethea researcher found 9 accounts on YouTube.
• Some accounts amassed over 35,000 followers, and some posts were viewed over 500,000 times.
• There were indications that Trump reposted content from at least 1 account.

The accounts are typically run using male and female avatars that look American, and often featured awkward English or grammatical errors. Clusters of accounts sharing identical phrases, images, and sound effects were also found, with the same characters appearing repeatedly across multiple accounts.

After reviewing the 304 accounts, TikTok stated that it found no signs of covert influence operations, and said it was removing the accounts after determining they were spam. YouTube and Meta also said they are reviewing accounts for violations of their spam and deceptive practices policies.

Researchers warned that such networks could be used not only for manipulating political opinion but also for inflating engagement, romance scams, and product promotion. The cost of generating posts per account was estimated at roughly $1-3.