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
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).
Each of the 11 accounts in this botnet retweets and follows multiple other members of the network. @AllTheTopNews1 is the most connected account in the network, with retweet or follow relationships with all of the other bots except for @DailyEastern.
This botnet promotes nine different "news" sites, six of which have "authors" with GAN-generated pics (four "authors" per site, for a total of 24). Some of the "authors" have the same pic as the Twitter account promoting the site they supposedly write for.
The alleged biographies of the "authors" of these news sites are hilariously repetitive, with most of the sites apparently employing a writer who is also an industrialist with a pet cat who enjoys playing video games and oversleeping (generally by exactly one hour).
Here's the result of blending all the face pics together (both the profile pics of the Twitter bots and the pics of the supposed "authors" from the websites). As is the case with all unmodified StyleGAN face pics, the major facial features are in the same location on each image.

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More from @conspirator0

14 Jan
This botnet would like you to know that online casino affiliates make big profits and earn continuous income, and has therefore said so hundreds of times. #TwinkleTwinkleLittleCasinoSpambots

cc: @ZellaQuixote
This online casino spambot network consists of 15 accounts, all made in 2020 or 2021. Each account sends the majority of its tweets via a unique custom app with a numerical name. Most of the accounts tweet on very similar schedules.
This botnet sends both original tweets and retweets. The retweets, which comprise the lion's share of the volume, are sent via the numerically-named custom apps, while the original tweets are sent via automation service SocialDog.
Read 5 tweets
13 Jan
If you woke up this morning wondering if someone had made a cryptocurrency astroturf botnet that falls in love all over again every time it sees Sean Hannity, you're in luck.

cc: @ZellaQuixote Image
This botnet consists of 266 accounts created on December 7th and December 8th 2020. All the accounts in this network have (allegedly) sent all of their tweets via the Twitter Web App. ImageImageImage
What do the bots in this network do? They primarily amplify cryptocurrency giveaway/promotion tweets via retweets by retweeting, replying to, and quote-tweeting them. They primarily amplify a group of twelve accounts (although one, @Latestairdrop3, is suspended). Image
Read 6 tweets
11 Jan
We took a look at GOP Congressman @DrPaulGosar's followers, and discovered that on two occasions he received surges in followers that tweet in languages other than English: first Chinese, and later Portuguese.

cc: @ZellaQuixote
When did @DrPaulGosar pick up these followers? The Chinese-language accounts mostly followed him in late March and early April 2020, with the Portuguese-language accounts showing up in mid-November 2020 (shortly after the U.S. presidential election).
The Chinese-language accounts following @DrPaulGosar link a variety of right-wing news sources, including Steve Bannon/Gui Wengui project GNews, Fox News, Epoch Times, and ZeroHedge.
Read 6 tweets
10 Jan
We created a @DrunkAlexJones Parler account (parler.com/profile/DrunkA…) back in June 2020. Despite the fact that he has only followed 40 accounts and posted a grand total of twice, he has racked up 1756 followers (43 times as many accounts as he follows).

cc: @ZellaQuixote
Most of DrunkAlexJones' Parler followers joined Parler at one of three points in time:

• shortly after Twitter first added a disclaimer to one of Trump's tweets
• in the week following the Nov 3, 2020 US presidential election
• shortly after Twitter banned @realDonaldTrump
188 of DrunkAlexJones' 1756 Parler followers (10.7%) have never posted, and 992 (56.5%) have posted fewer than 10 times. The empty accounts were disproportionately created during the post-election surge.
Read 4 tweets
10 Jan
The Vatican experienced a blackout last night, and QAnon believers have responded in typical fashion by baking a conspiracy casserole involving the Pope being arrested for child trafficking and something about Dominion voting machines (of course).

cc: @ZellaQuixote
Retweet network for tweets containing "Vatican" or "The Pope" for the evening of January 9th and morning of January 10th, 2020 (PST). Former QAnon congressional candidate @theangiestanton and a newborn "news" account named @WorldWireNews1 turn up prominently.
The @WorldWireNews1 account was created during the attack on the U.S. Capitol, at 1:49 PM on January 6th, 2020. It appears to be the successor to the now-suspended @WW_NEWS_ (@WorldWireNews1's "F" tweet is a reply to a now-removed tweet commenting on @WW_NEWS_'s ban).
Read 5 tweets
10 Jan
It's a new year, but some things remain the same, and one of those things is that one can still find pornbot networks. #SaturdaySpam

cc: @ZellaQuixote Image
This pornbot network consists of 690 accounts, created in batches between August 20th and November 16th, 2020. Thus far, all of their tweets have been (allegedly) sent via Twitter web app. Some (but not all) of the bots have liked tweets from porn accounts with large followings. ImageImageImageImage
The tweets posted by this pornbot network are extremely repetitive, with many tweets having been posted by hundreds of accounts. (The repeated tweets are sometimes accompanied by hashtagged US city names, which we removed for the sake of generating this table.) Image
Read 5 tweets

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