Kevin CollierOct 16, 2024
New: Do some political conversations on Twitter strike you as a little less than authentic? For the first time, researchers have uncovered a coordinated LLM network of nearly 700 fake accounts devoted to gumming up Twitter replies to advocate for specific GOP races:
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/republican-bot-campaign-trump-x-twitter-elon-musk-fake-accounts-rcna173692
An AI-powered bot army on X spread pro-Trump and pro-GOP propaganda, research shows

The bot network supported Republican candidates in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania and boosted North Carolina’s Republican-led voter identification law.

NBC News
Show threadKevin Collier
If you've heard of Dead Internet Theory — where you don't realize everybody you're talking to is a bot — this is evidence of the first step toward that. Network of seemingly real people making unique replies to people to advocate a political agenda.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/republican-bot-campaign-trump-x-twitter-elon-musk-fake-accounts-rcna173692
An AI-powered bot army on X spread pro-Trump and pro-GOP propaganda, research shows

The bot network supported Republican candidates in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania and boosted North Carolina’s Republican-led voter identification law.

NBC News
Oct 16, 2024 at 7:25pmTusky
Show threadKevin CollierOct 16, 2024
We don't know who's behind the network, though signs point toward it being a cheap pro-GOP domestic political op. Very notably, while the US has polished up its apparatus to fight foreign disinformation, there's no reason to think this breaks federal law.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/republican-bot-campaign-trump-x-twitter-elon-musk-fake-accounts-rcna173692
An AI-powered bot army on X spread pro-Trump and pro-GOP propaganda, research shows

The bot network supported Republican candidates in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania and boosted North Carolina’s Republican-led voter identification law.

NBC News
Show threadLevi BroderickOct 16, 2024
@kevincollier IANAL, but I wonder if somebody could make a colorable argument that this violates the new FTC regulations posted at https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/08/federal-trade-commission-announces-final-rule-banning-fake-reviews-testimonials, specifically §465.2(a)(1). It's a bit of a stretch here, but I wonder if "service" could cover the term of an elected officer, especially since elected officials influence commerce. (I see "business" defined in this paper, but not "service".)
Federal Trade Commission Announces Final Rule Banning Fake Reviews and Testimonials

The Federal Trade Commission today announced a final rule

Federal Trade Commission