Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #FridayShenanigans
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If your interests include OnlyFans, pro-China propaganda, and social media accounts with artificially generated faces, then this is the botnet for you. (There's also cryptocurrency spam involved because of course there is.) #FridayShenaniGANs
cc: @ZellaQuixote
cc: @ZellaQuixote
This network consists of (at least) 1627 Twitter accounts created between April 30th and May 20th, 2023. All of them follow at least two of the following accounts: @AoTJewels, @BlackYellow, @Fenerbahce, and @elonmusk ,and tweet via Twitter for Android or the Twitter Web App.
The 1627 accounts in this network all use GAN-generated faces as their profile pics. All of these images have neutral backgrounds and are 255x255 pixels (Twitter default is 400x400).
(GAN = "generative adversial network", the technology used to generate the "face" images)
(GAN = "generative adversial network", the technology used to generate the "face" images)
It's always a great day to look at various suspicious Twitter accounts with GAN-generated faces. #FridayShenaniGANs
("GAN" = "generative adversarial network", the AI tech used by thispersondoesnotexist.com and similar tools to generate fake faces)
cc: @ZellaQuixote
("GAN" = "generative adversarial network", the AI tech used by thispersondoesnotexist.com and similar tools to generate fake faces)
cc: @ZellaQuixote
First up, we have @Danv30392521 and @News_World_Tech, a pair of accounts with GAN-generated faces that spam links to an obscure website named curiosityguide(dot)org. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a prominent theme of their content.
Next, there's @RabbiLindaGold1, an account with a GAN-generated face that purports to be the "Chief Rabbi of Gaza". In addition to using the GAN-generated face as a profile pic, this user has also photoshopped it into several photographs allegedly taken in or near Gaza.
None of these people exist, but that hasn't stopped them from spamming a variety of articles (mostly about cryptocurrency/NFT topics) onto Twitter using social media automation service Socialchief. #FridayShenaniGANs
cc: @ZellaQuixote
cc: @ZellaQuixote
These accounts are part of a network of 8 accounts created over the span of roughly 5 minutes on January 5th, 2022. All 8 use GAN-generated faces as profile pics.
(GAN = "generative adversarial network", the technology used by thispersondoesnotexist.com to produce synthetic faces)
(GAN = "generative adversarial network", the technology used by thispersondoesnotexist.com to produce synthetic faces)
The major facial features (particularly the eyes) on unmodified GAN-generated face pics (so far) are always in the same position on the image, regardless of the angle of the face. This becomes obvious when one blends the images together.
It's a day that end in "y", and a bunch of accounts with GAN-generated face pics are having "conversations" with each other about a game called "TheUnfettered" that apparently involves both NFTs and the Metaverse. #FridayShenaniGANs
cc: @ZellaQuixote
cc: @ZellaQuixote
These accounts are part of a network of 23 accounts with GAN-generated profile pics that (at least for the last year) tweet exclusively via the Twitter Web App. Most were created August 2020 or later, but six were made in 2011 and have old tweets sent via a variety of apps.
Unmodified GAN-generated face pics (at least so far) have the telltale trait that the major facial features are in the same position on every image. This becomes evident when we blend the profile images of the 23 accounts in the network.
Meet @Gabby_ucm, a Twitter account with a GAN-generated profile pic that has gained over 20 thousand followers since being created in September 2021.
(GAN = "generative adversarial network", the technique used by thispersondoesnotexist.com to produce fake faces) #FridayShenaniGANs
(GAN = "generative adversarial network", the technique used by thispersondoesnotexist.com to produce fake faces) #FridayShenaniGANs
Unmodified GAN-generated face pics have the telltale trait that the major facial features (particularly the eyes) are in the same position on every image, and @Gabby_ucm's profile pic is no exception. There are also anomalies in the teeth, clothing, and hair of @Gabby_ucm's pic.
More on GAN-generated images and their use on Twitter in this set of threads: )
We're only 15 days into 2021, and someone has already spun up a network of "news" accounts with GAN-generated face pics (similar to the output of thispersondoesnotexist.com). Most of the "authors" at the sites they promote also have GAN pics. #FridayShenaniGANs
cc: @ZellaQuixote
cc: @ZellaQuixote
We found a network of 11 accounts, all created on January 1st 2021 or later. Each account has a GAN-generated profile pic and tweets links to the "news" site listed in its profile (the sites are mostly cryptocurrency-themed), as well as retweeting other members of the network.
Most of these accounts' tweets are automated via "RSS Ground", and contain links to the "news" sites they promote. The automated tweets are sent on similar schedules, with occasional tweets via the Twitter website (mostly retweets of other accounts in the network).
This seems like an excellent day to look at a (mostly) Russian-language follower/retweet botnet that uses GAN-generated pics (presumably created using thispersondoesnotexist.com or a similar tool). #FridayShenanigans
cc: @ZellaQuixote
cc: @ZellaQuixote
This botnet consists of 53 accounts created between August 12th and August 16th, 2020. All have randomly generated usernames consisting of digits and lowercase letters and Cyrillic display names.
Here are the profile pics of all 53 accounts in the botnet, as well as the result of blending them together. The eyes align perfectly (as do the mouth and ears other than slight variations in angle and position), a trait common to all unmodified face pics generated with StyleGAN.
