New York [US], July 22: According to NBC News on July 21, researchers discovered a network of more than 400 fake accounts on social network X that recently made positive comments about personnel in the Trump administration. However, these accounts suddenly had mixed messages after the White House's move on the case of the late billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, a case that caused internal division within the Republican Party.
Social media analytics company Alethea (USA) and researchers at Clemson University in the US have discovered fake accounts that have been posting comments in support of Mr. Trump and members of the Republican Party since last year's election. However, after US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the conclusion of Mr. Epstein's death in early July, the research team noticed abnormalities in the fake accounts.
Specifically, during the same time period on July 12, an X account responded to a MAGA follower (a fervent Trump supporter) saying that she should not criticize Bondi harshly, but commented on another post calling for Bondi to resign. In addition, another account commented on July 9 saying that Bondi was innocent, but in the following days continuously called for resistance against the Trump administration.
The recent mixed messages from fake Republican accounts are believed to be due to them being programmed to learn and mimic the comments of MAGA users. Therefore, the conflicting comments from the accounts also partly reflect a change in the tone of Trump supporters on social media.
Researchers found some common features among these fake accounts. The content of comments is often repeated verbatim across multiple accounts. The impact these accounts have is to steer public opinion on political issues. This activity has become more sophisticated with the development of AI.
Tip of the iceberg
The mixed comments from the above-mentioned virtual social media accounts are part of a picture showing that a part of Mr. Trump's support has wavered after the incident involving the late billionaire Epstein.
Some MAGA supporters believe in conspiracy theories that the late billionaire linked to the Epstein pedophile ring had a "client list" of powerful and influential people. They also believe in Trump's campaign pledges that he would not hesitate to release the "Epstein dossier" if he returns to the White House. So when the US Justice Department released a memorandum confirming that Epstein committed suicide in prison in 2019, and that the department would not release further information about the investigation, observers said those who expected more details felt betrayed.
Several prominent Republicans have criticized Trump's handling of the matter. According to The Hill on July 17, Republican lawmakers Ted Cruz and Thom Tillis said the Trump administration should release documents on the Epstein case. House Speaker Mike Johnson also agreed: "Everything should be made public and let the people judge for themselves."
The current US President's attitude towards this issue has also changed. Initially, he wondered: "Why is the Jeffrey Epstein case so interesting to everyone? It's quite boring." Then, President Trump expressed his indignation at those who insisted on revealing the details of the case, calling them "weak" and "stupid". Then, he began to have a concession, when on July 17, he said that he would ask the court to allow the publication of documents in the Epstein case, although this process could take a long time.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper