The denizens of 4chan's /pol/ continue to encourage the creation of fake Twitter accounts using GAN-generated face pics from thispersondoesnotexist(dot)com, so we rounded up a dozen more possible examples. #ASeriesOfUn4chanateEvents
We downloaded recent replies containing various racial terms (some of them derogatory, which is why they're not listed in the graph title), and checked the accounts with 2020 creation dates for GAN-generated profile pics.
We found twelve accounts with 2020 creation dates and GAN-generated facial features that look like possible 4chan troll accounts based on their selection of content and narratives.
As is the case with all unmodified images generated by thispersondoesnotexist(dot)com, the major facial features (eyes, nose, mouth) are in the same location on each account's profile pic, regardless of apparent "camera angle".
These twelve potential 4chan socks with GAN-generated face PICs mostly retweet and reply to prominent right-wing accounts such as @MrAndyNgo, @CassandraRules, @JackPosobiec, and @Timcast. Several also troll @AOC.
Let's take a brief look at each account. First up is @DSteinmen, a self-styled "Genetic Holocaust Survivor" that simultaneously claims to be Jewish while talking about "Jewish privilege" and insinuating that a Jewish conspiracy controls the world. It's no fan of Islam, either.
Next we have @QuinnSagan, an account with a GAN-generated face and a recent fixation on the Portland protests. According to @QuinnSagan, #BLM is violent, DHS actions in Portland are totally normal, and right-wing demonstrators definitely haven't been waving swastika flags.
All of these accounts have racist tweets, but if you're looking for a specific focus on white supremacy, @bannedboomer and @HankGamer4u have got you covered. Also include: gleefully flipping off babies and endorsing of the murder of a BLM protester.
Anti-trans content is another recurring theme of the suspected 4chan troll accounts with GAN-generated faces, and @Alex77761590 is a shining example.
Some of these accounts combine multiple themes, such as @Christi04815560 and @Hyper_D0lphin, both of which mix anti-trans and anti-BLM content. Anti-Semitism, Soros conspiracy theories, and the desire to "kill the commies" also turn up.
Over in the UK (hypothetically, anyway - in practice we have no idea where these accounts are operated from), @DavieJonessz is pushing similar messaging, with tweets attacking trans people, Chinese people, and Jews.
Next up, we have supposed climate activist @ClimateWarrior7, which spends more of its time engaging in bigotry via irony than actually saying anything meaningful about climate change.
Moving on, meet @Toddismynam, which mostly tweets about gaming, but has some interesting tweets, including a meme full of racial stereotypes and a reply about impending cultural replacement. Also, its AI-generated profile pic has some hilarious glitches. #YouHadOneJob
Anti-BLM accounts are already a dime a dozen in this thread, but @wouldn_2 adds in the additional narrative that Black lives only matter to Democrats when there's an election. Also, it's fond of the phrase "it's OK to be white".
Closing out our dirty dozen of likely 4chan troll accounts that use GAN-generated face pics, we have bilingual account @bervonrechts, which peddles its unique blend of racism, sexism, and anti-Semitism in both English and German.
Permanent IDs of the accounts featured in this thread, in case they rename themselves:
What's up with all these similarly-worded enthusiastic posts about a Pierre Poilievre rally in Kirkland Lake, and are they all from accounts that are less than a month old? (Spoiler: yes, they are.) #Spamtastic
cc: @ZellaQuixote
An X search for "Pierre Poilievre", "Kirkland Lake", and "refreshing" performed on August 4th, 2024 turned up 151 posts from 151 accounts. All are new accounts, with the oldest having been created less than a month ago, on July 7th, 2024. (Some have since been suspended by X.)
The most intense period of activity for this group of accounts was on August 3rd, 2024, when the repetitive posts about the Poilievre rally were posted. Each account also has at least one earlier post on a random topic; some of these older posts seem to cut off abruptly.
• Community Notes successfully placed fact checks on some of the most viral false posts about the shooting
• ~42% of noted posts were subsequently deleted by their authors
• An effort to spread a misidentification of the shooter via Community Notes failed
THE BAD:
• Community Notes fact checks take several hours to show up, which doesn't help much in the initial "breaking news" phase after a violent event
• Many notes never accumulate enough ratings to determine their fate
12 questions for @TheDailyBeast regarding @JakeLahut's false April 2023 story, "How Ron DeSantis Is Taking a Page Out of Nixon’s Playbook", which (among other things) falsely portrays an AI-generated face as a "sexually graphic meme" of a real child.
@JoannaColes @TracyConnor
First, some background and a couple debunks of the false article, for those unfamiliar with the situation:
1. How did the decision to use serial fabulist Steven Jarvis as a source for this article come about?
2. Was anyone employed by or affiliated with The Daily Beast at the time the article was published aware of Steven Jarvis's extensive history of making false claims?
Meet @LovewinnLove (permanent ID 2707213009), a blue-check verified account with a GAN-generated face and a few additional odd characteristics. Despite being created in 2014, this account has no posts prior to October 2023.
cc: @ZellaQuixote
There are multiple indicators that @LovewinnLove's "face" is GAN-generated:
• unrealistic teeth (visible portion of bottom teeth is especially bizarre)
• odd texturing and seams in shirt fabric
• telltale eye positioning (more info in next post)
@LovewinnLove All unmodified StyleGAN-generated face images have the property that the major facial features (particularly the eyes) are in the same position on each image. Blending @LovewinnLove's profile image with 99 other GAN-generated faces demonstrates this nicely.
It's New Year's Eve, and a bunch of politics enthusiasts with GAN-generated faces are enthusiastically replying to a variety of posts with similarly-worded replies. #NewYearShenaniGANs
cc: @ZellaQuixote
The politics enthusiasts are part of a spam network consisting of (at least) 575 accounts created between May and December 2023 with GAN-generated faces. Many of their handles, such as @Maairiuieinaaa and @eJooeiaAoneueer, contain long strings of vowels.
@Maairiuieinaaa @eJooeiaAoneueer All 575 of these accounts use StyleGAN-generated faces as profile images. Some of these, such as @MauMoiagaia's profile image, contain a tiny "StyleGAN 2 (Karras et al.)" watermark in the lower right corner.
It's a great day to look at a network of inauthentic accounts that post identical AI art images (with a side of good old fashioned T-shirt spam).
cc: @ZellaQuixote
This network consists of 24 X accounts. 12 of these accounts were created in the latter half of 2023 and have female avatars, while the other 12 were created in 2013 or earlier and have male avatars.
The 12 accounts with female avatars and 2023 creation dates regularly post AI-generated art images, and these image posts are quickly reposted by other accounts in the network (both female and male). The AI-generated images are often duplicated across accounts.