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:
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
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.
#CanadaHasFallen is trending, and one of the more popular tweets is from an account with a GAN-generated profile pic: @youspecialagent, permanent ID 1277275248400969731.
Despite having only ~4500 followers, @youspecialagent's tweets featuring various hashtags opposing "vaccine passports" have repeatedly gone viral.
Over 1000 of @youspecialagent's followers appear to have been gained by posting a single followback tweet containing an anti-"vaccine passport" hashtag. A bunch of accounts replied to the tweet with the hashtag in question, spreading the hashtag further.
It's February, and a group of accounts with GAN-generated profile pics are tweeting identical "Merry Christmas" tweets promoting some kind of NFT giveaway.
(GAN = "generative adversarial network", the AI technique used by thispersondoesnotexist.com to produce fake faces)
These accounts are part of a spam network consisting of (at least) 6105 accounts created in February 2022, mostly in large batches. All have GAN-generated profile pics. The same names are reused across accounts - the 6105 accounts only have 25 unique first names between them.
The GAN-generated face pics produced by tools like thispersondoesnotexist.com have the telltale trait that the major facial features (particularly the eyes) are in the same position on every image. This becomes obvious when the images are blended together.
The 2022 #WinterOlympics are underway, and spammy networks such as this group of accounts with anime avatars tweeting about the "pokesperson of Chinese Embassy in the US" are taking an interest in the occasion.
These tweets were posted by a network consisting of (at least) 152 similarly-named accounts created in batches between September 2021 and January 2022. All tweet (allegedly) via either the Twitter Web App or Twitter for Android, and all have few or no followers or followees.
Many of the tweets posted by this network are duplicated on multiple accounts. The main theme is denial of human rights abuses against Uyghurs, with "feel-good" content about Xinjiang thrown in. The network frequently uses Olympic hashtags (#WinterOlympics, #Beijing2022, etc).
For a change of pace, I'm doing a bit of a YouTube experiment. I'm going to choose six songs of varied genre on a new YouTube account, and then just listen to whatever it creates as the "My Mix" playlist. #FruitOfTheAlgorithm
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: