Facebook, Twitter Remove AI-Powered Fake Accounts With Pro-Trump Messages

By Jeff Horwitz and Robert McMillan 

Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. have taken down a global network of fake accounts used in a coordinated campaign to push pro-Trump political messages, including some that used artificial intelligence tools to try to mask the behavior, the company and outside research firms they worked with said on Friday.

The move targeted a U.S.-based media company that also operates out of Vietnam called the BL, which, Facebook alleges, used computer-generated profile pictures to cover up the orchestrated nature of its activities. Facebook linked the company to the Epoch Media Group, which has had ties to the Falun Gong movement, a spiritual movement based in China which has clashed with the Chinese government and supported President Trump's reelection.

Representatives from the BL didn't immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

In a statement posted to his company's website, Epoch Media Group Publisher Stephen Gregory denied any connection between BL and his company, saying that BL was "founded by a former employee, and employs some of our former employees."

The use of AI-generated photos to pass off the accounts as real represents a new tool for those trying to use fake accounts to amplify their message on social-media platforms, such as Facebook. It adds to the longstanding practice of stealing other people's photos or using stock images for profile pictures. Its use comes as Facebook and others are deploying their own tools to help spot fake accounts.

The tech giant said the BL, which the social-media company has now banned from its platform, ran 610 Facebook accounts, 89 pages, 156 groups and 72 accounts on Instagram. The fake accounts managed to accrue more than 55 million followers, Facebook said, adding most of them were outside of the U.S. The accounts targeted people in Vietnam as well as global audiences speaking Chinese and Spanish, Facebook said.

The network of fake accounts bolstered its efforts by spending more than $9 million on advertising on the platform, Facebook said.

The BL itself had more than 1.5 million Facebook followers as of Tuesday, according to a version of its Facebook page captured by the Internet Archive.

A Twitter spokesman said the company "identified and suspended approximately 700 accounts originating from Vietnam for violating our rules around platform manipulation -- specifically fake accounts and spam."

The accounts had a relatively low number of followers, he said, and have been suspended. Twitter said it was still investigating but "our initial findings have not identified links between these accounts and state-backed actors."

Facebook said it may remove additional accounts.

"We are continuing to investigate all linked networks, and will take action as appropriate if we determine they are engaged in deceptive behavior," Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook's head of security policy, said in a blog post. Mr. Gleicher said "open source reporting" aided its investigation.

--Alexa Corse and Betsy Morris contributed to this article.

Write to Jeff Horwitz at [e-mail] and Robert McMillan at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 20, 2019 15:39 ET (20:39 GMT)

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