Is @WaltWhiteCrypto getting retweets from a freshly-cooked batch of bots with GAN-generated profile pics? (Spoiler: Yes) #TheBotsWhoKnock
(GAN = "generative adversarial network", the AI technique used by thispersondoesnotexist.com etc to generate fake face pics)
cc: @ZellaQuixote
(GAN = "generative adversarial network", the AI technique used by thispersondoesnotexist.com etc to generate fake face pics)
cc: @ZellaQuixote
The botnet amplifying @WaltWhiteCrypto (and others) consists of 936 accounts created in August and September 2021. All have lowercase display names (first + last name) and follow zero accounts, and all have GAN-generated profile pics.
All 936 accounts in this network (allegedly) tweet via the Twitter Web App. The network is active round-the-clock, and all of its content is retweets. It mostly amplifies cryptocurrency accounts, although the most frequently retweeted account is a media account, @TheLevantNewsEN.
Thus far, GAN-generated face pics (at least unmodified ones) have the telltale trait that the major facial features (particularly the eyes) are in the same position on every image. This becomes obvious when one blends the images together.
As is often the case with large networks that use lots of GAN-generated face pics, some of the accounts in this set have rather glitchy images.
(When is someone going to start selling real life hats inspired by glitchy GAN hats, btw? This should be a thing.)
(When is someone going to start selling real life hats inspired by glitchy GAN hats, btw? This should be a thing.)
More on GAN-generated images and their use on (mostly) Twitter in this compilation of threads:
https://twitter.com/conspirator0/status/1322704400226394112
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