Linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin's Internet Research Agency (troll factory), the company once again tried to use social media to covertly influence right-wing audiences in the US and subsequently the US presidential election. This is reported by the American analytical company Graphika Inc in a joint report with analysts from Stanford University.
The fake character network has been spreading divisive political messages, criticizing Democratic candidates, supporting far-right candidates, and attempting to undermine public support for Ukraine in a war launched by Russia.
On Truth Social, Gab and Gettr found about 35 accounts linked to the Newsroom for American and European Based Citizens (NAEBC) news platform. The FBI has previously reported that NAEBC is run by the Internet Research Agency. At the time of exposure, the accounts managed to collect only 33 thousand subscribers, while the posts are similar to those left by the “troll factory” during previous attempts to interfere.
Some of the fake accounts' operations were "breakthrough" and the content was distributed to a wide audience. For example, accounts of "fans" of rock musician Kid Rock, who is popular among American conservatives, have become popular. One of the posts on the page cited a conspiracy theory about gas prices, but a screenshot of the fake was posted by the son of former US President Donald Trump Jr. on his verified account.
At the same time, analysts found that until the end of October 2022, the Kid Rock account was registered as “Niels Holst”, “media editor based in Amsterdam”. Researchers have concluded that this is an NAEBC account that was repurposed this year. Archived versions confirm that the account names have changed.
The founder of Gab said that the social network has removed the network of bots. At Truth Social, Gettr and Trump Jr. have not yet responded to Graphika's request.
In July, the US State Department announced a $10 million reward for information about the Internet Research Agency (the troll factory) and its owner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, due to interference in the 2016 US presidential election. Prigozhin is a recidivist criminal convicted of theft, fraud and involvement of minors in criminal activities. Among other things, he funds the Internet Research Agency.