A journalistic team discovered hundreds of foreign-based accounts re-posting polarising content on ‘X’.
An investigation by RTL Nieuws has revealed that the most recent elections for the Dutch House of Representatives was influenced via social media by engagement between fake accounts and real users.
Networks of over 500 accounts with suspicious names, identical photos and biographies, and shady bursts of activity led the journalists to explore further.
What sort of interference?
The accounts were mainly engaged in reposting and following smaller but very politically vocal accounts here in the Netherlands.
This activity ultimately increases the ‘relevance’ of the content under X’s algorithm, giving smaller accounts an increase in clout on the site.
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And what tweets and opinions were being amplified? Mostly, those in favour of right-wing parties and political leaders.
A majority of the accounts reposted content relating to the Forum voor Democratie (FvD) and Geert Wilders’ Partij voor de Vrijheid (PVV) ahead of the elections this past October.
The posts and re-posts seemed to have a goal of highlighting division in Dutch politics.
Who’s doing this?
The accounts were largely coming from West Africa and Asia, with a majority stemming from Ghana and Nigeria.
Previous investigations by analytical groups like Trollensics have pinpointed that these kinds of ‘troll farms’ are often linked to Russia.
The FvD’s favourable stance on Russia regarding Ukraine arms provisions seemingly backs up this theory, as the bogus accounts were used to boost their message and perceived popularity in the Netherlands.
Well, can’t X stop it?
While the platform has suspended some of the fake accounts, the general ‘cleaning-out’ of this mess takes time. The networks are insidiously hidden in plain sight.
In an effort to speed up and fortify the process, an investigation into X’s site management in the Netherlands has been launched.
The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) alerted the European Commission to the issue, who have begun the effort to ensure X’s protection of European election integrity in future.
But, is it too little too late?
What do you think about the use of these accounts? Let us know in the comments!
