As the US presidential election nears, there has been a surge in fake accounts on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. These accounts are designed to look like young European female influencers endorsing former President Donald Trump.
On August 28, CNN reported discovering 56 fraudulent X accounts supporting Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, and his vice presidential running mate, US Senator J.D. Vance.
These fake accounts misused images of 17 real fashion and beauty influencers from the Netherlands, Denmark, and Russia, who have no actual involvement in the US election.
One particular account, posing as Luna, a 32-year-old from Wisconsin, was created in March and quickly garnered 30,000 followers by promoting Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
Luna’s account has been active in spreading conspiracy theories, alleging multiple assassination attempts on Trump, and sharing content that incites hatred against LGBTQ+ individuals and foreigners.
On July 29, she shared a selfie in a white bikini taken at the beach, asking, “Would you support Trump being the president forever?” The post garnered 54,000 views.
However, Luna was not a real person. The brown-haired woman in the photos was actually Debbie Nederlof, a German fashion influencer who does not have voting rights in the US.
Nederlof expressed her displeasure upon discovering that her photos were used without permission. She told CNN, “To be honest, ‘what the f**k?’ was my reaction. That was my reaction because I had nothing to do with the United States. Political things are going on with Trump. What the hell do I – from a small place in Germany – care about US politics?”
CNN reported that there is no evidence yet implicating Trump’s presidential campaign in these fake accounts. However, the analysis of these 56 fake accounts revealed a consistent pattern: using attractive young women’s photos to express support for Trump and commonly using hashtags like #MAGAPatriots, #MAGA2024, and #IFBAP (I Follow Back All Patriots).
Before CNN published this article, X deleted most problematic accounts within 24 hours.
Experts have observed that the frequent grammatical errors in these fake accounts could suggest foreign involvement. They also pointed to a systematic pattern in the errors, which hints at the possibility of organized production behind these accounts.
