Fake Accounts, Influencers Endorsing Trump Surfaces

Fake accounts have been identified by CNN and CIR on X, using a combination of digital sleuthing and reverse image search tools, and appearing to be part of a concerted operation supporting the Trump-Vance ticket ahead of the 2024 presidential election. 

The discovery of fake profiles utilizing European Instagram influencers' photographs comes amid a highly public feud between Musk and Thierry Breton, the European Union's internal market commissioner, who has frequently questioned X's adherence to the bloc's Digital Services Act.

The posts from these accounts uncovered by CNN and CIR typically echo one another, with identical or extremely similar comments reposted across many platforms, exaggerating their reach and making the misinformation appear more widespread than it is. Experts believe that this systematic approach indicates a planned effort to sway voters.

In an interview with CNN, Thomas Regnier, European Commission spokesperson for digital economy, research, and innovation, stated that in Europe, "stealing someone's identity is forbidden, not by the DSA as such, but forbidden in EU law, international law, so this (the accounts identified in the investigation) would potentially be illegal, illegal behavior, or illegal accounts, and this could then be taken into account in the current proceedings that we have against X."