A short thread on how influence ops work, with an example.
[1] Imagine you're a verified user. And you get an account tweeting at you with a screenshot from 2016, showing a purported "Bernie Bro" trashing PoC on Twitter. And you retweet it.
And then imagine someone like me -
[1] Imagine you're a verified user. And you get an account tweeting at you with a screenshot from 2016, showing a purported "Bernie Bro" trashing PoC on Twitter. And you retweet it.
And then imagine someone like me -
[2] comes along, investigates & then realizes that the screenshot is of a fake account that has since been purged by Twitter. I remark about this, & the user says it doesn't matter. Furthermore, they try to claim that this is just the general sentiment of many Bernie supporters.-
[3] (Note that you may have to open these images in a new tab. Sorry for the length, but easier than chopping into pieces).
Now imagine my surprise when I look into that account and find that it, too, is a fraud, that has engaged in massive spam campaigns.
Now imagine my surprise when I look into that account and find that it, too, is a fraud, that has engaged in massive spam campaigns.
[4] What this account has just done is a reverse false flag, which smears not only those that 'he' reps, but also Bernie supporters. It just depends on which perspective you have. If you're a Bernie supporter, this insistence that Bernie supporters are just like this is likely -
[5] to be offensive to you. The tweet that 'he' pushed from the other fraud from back in 2016 is still reaping rewards 3 years later, after the account has long since been purged.
It is likely offensive to PoC. A& 'he' targeted verified users with this, which furthers his reach
It is likely offensive to PoC. A& 'he' targeted verified users with this, which furthers his reach
