BBCSome customers on X who spend their days sharing content material that features election misinformation, AI-generated pictures and unfounded conspiracy theories say they’re being paid “hundreds of {dollars}” by the social media web site.
The BBC recognized networks of dozens of accounts that re-share one another’s content material a number of occasions a day – together with a mixture of true, unfounded, false and faked materials – to spice up their attain, and subsequently, income on the positioning.
A number of say earnings from their very own and different accounts vary from a few hundred to hundreds of {dollars}.
In addition they say they coordinate sharing one another’s posts on boards and group chats. “It is a means of making an attempt to assist one another out,” one person mentioned.
A few of these networks assist Donald Trump, others Kamala Harris, and a few are impartial. A number of of those profiles – which say they aren’t related to official campaigns – have been contacted by US politicians, together with congressional candidates, in search of supportive posts.
On 9 October, X modified its guidelines so the funds made to eligible accounts with a big attain are calculated in response to the quantity of engagement from premium customers – likes, shares and feedback – quite than the variety of adverts beneath their posts.
Many social media websites enable customers to earn cash from their posts or to share sponsored content material. However they typically have guidelines which permit them to de-monetise or droop profiles that submit misinformation. X doesn’t have tips on misinformation in the identical means.
Whereas X has a smaller person base than some websites, it has a big impression on political discourse. It raises questions on whether or not X is incentivising customers to submit provocative claims, whether or not they’re true or not, at a extremely delicate second for US politics.
The BBC in contrast the approximate earnings reported by a few of these X customers with the quantity they’d be anticipated to earn, based mostly on their variety of views, followers and interactions with different profiles, and located them to be credible.
Among the many deceptive posts shared by a few of these networks of profiles had been claims about election fraud which had been rebutted by authorities, and excessive, unfounded allegations of paedophilia and sexual abuse in opposition to the presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
Some deceptive and false posts that originated on X have additionally spilled on to different social media websites with a much bigger viewers, resembling Fb and TikTok.
In a single instance, an X person with a small following says he created a doctored picture purporting to indicate Kamala Harris working at McDonald’s as a younger girl. Different customers then pushed evidence-free claims that the Democratic Celebration was manipulating pictures of its candidate.
Unfounded conspiracy theories from X concerning the July assassination try on Donald Trump had been additionally picked up on different social media websites.
X didn’t reply to questions on whether or not the positioning is incentivising customers to submit like this, nor to requests to interview proprietor Elon Musk.
‘It’s turn out to be rather a lot simpler to earn cash’
Freedom Uncut’s content material creation lair – the place he streams and makes movies – is adorned with fairy lights within the form of an American flag. He says he’s an impartial, however would quite Donald Trump turns into president than Kamala Harris.
Free – as his associates name him – says he can spend as much as 16 hours a day in his lair posting on X, interacting with the community of dozens of content material creators he’s part of, and sharing AI-generated photos. He doesn’t share his full title or actual identification as a result of he says his household’s private info has been uncovered on-line, resulting in threats.
He’s not at all one of the vital excessive posters, and has agreed to fulfill me and clarify how these networks on X function.
He says he has had 11 million views over the previous few months since he started posting repeatedly concerning the US election. He brings a number of up on the display screen as we chat at his residence in Tampa, Florida.
Some are clearly satire – Donald Trump wanting like a personality in The Matrix as he brushes apart bullets, or President Joe Biden as a dictator. Different AI pictures are much less fantastical – together with a picture of somebody on the roof of their flooded residence as fighter jets go by, with the remark: “Keep in mind that politicians do not care about you on November fifth.”
The picture echoes Mr Trump’s declare that there have been “no helicopters, no rescue” for individuals in North Carolina following Hurricane Helene. The declare has been rebutted by the North Carolina Nationwide Guard, which says it rescued lots of of individuals in 146 flight missions.
Freedom Uncut says he sees his pictures as “artwork” that sparks a dialog. He says he’s “not making an attempt to idiot anyone” however that he can “accomplish that far more by utilizing AI”.
Since his profile was monetised, he says he could make within the “low hundreds” month-to-month from X: “I feel it is turn out to be rather a lot simpler for individuals to earn cash.”
He provides that some customers he is aware of have been making greater than 5 figures and claims he might corroborate this by seeing the attain of their posts: “It is at that time it actually does turn out to be a job.”
He says it’s the “controversial” stuff that tends to get essentially the most views – and compares this to “sensationalist” conventional media.
Whereas he posts “provocative stuff”, he says it’s “often based mostly in some model of actuality”. However he means that different profiles he sees are pleased to share posts they know to not be true. This, he says, is a straightforward “money-maker”.
Freedom Uncut dismisses issues about false claims influencing the election, claiming the federal government “spreads extra misinformation than the remainder of the web mixed”.
He additionally says it’s “quite common” for native politicians to achieve out to accounts like his on X for assist. He says a few of them have chatted to him about showing on his dwell streams and spoken to him about creating and sharing memes, AI pictures and art work for them.
May any of those posts – deceptive or not – have a tangible impression this election?
“I feel that you simply’re seeing that at present. I feel that a whole lot of the Trump assist comes from that,” he says.
In Freedom Uncut’s view, there may be “extra belief in impartial media” – together with accounts sharing AI-generated pictures and misinformation – than in “some conventional media corporations”.
‘No strategy to get to the reality’
Going head-to-head with the pro-Trump accounts Freedom Uncut describes are profiles resembling Brown Eyed Susan, who has greater than 200,000 followers on X.
She is a part of a community of “die-hard” accounts posting content material a number of occasions each hour in assist of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. Whereas she makes use of her first title, she doesn’t share her surname due to threats and abuse she has acquired on-line.
Talking to me from Los Angeles, Susan says she by no means supposed to start out being profitable from her posts – or for her account’s attain to “explode”. Generally she posts and re-shares greater than 100 messages a day – and her particular person posts typically attain greater than two million customers every.
She says she solely makes cash from her posts as a result of she was awarded a blue tick, which marks paid users on the site and some prominent accounts. “I did not ask for it. I can not conceal it, and I can not return it. So I clicked on monetise,” she tells me, estimating she will make a few hundred {dollars} a month.
Other than posting about coverage, a few of her most viral posts – racking up greater than three million views – have promoted unfounded and false conspiracy theories suggesting the July assassination try was staged by Donald Trump.
She acknowledges {that a} member of the group and the shooter had been killed, however says she has real questions on Donald Trump’s damage, the safety failings, and whether or not the incident has been correctly investigated.
“There is not any strategy to get to the reality on this. And in the event that they need to name it conspiratorial, they’ll,” she says.
Susan additionally shares memes, a few of which use AI, taking goal on the Republican contender. A number of extra convincing examples make him look older or unwell. She says these “illustrate his present situation”.
Others present him wanting like a dictator. She maintains that each one her pictures are “apparent” fakes.
Like Freedom Uncut, she says politicians, together with congressional candidates, have contacted her for assist, and she or he says she tries to “unfold as a lot consciousness” as she will for them.
‘They need it to be actual’
Following a row over whether or not Kamala Harris as soon as labored at McDonald’s, a doctored picture of her within the quick meals chain’s uniform was shared on Fb by her supporters and went viral.
When some pro-Trump accounts realised it was an edited picture of a unique girl within the uniform, it triggered unfounded accusations that the picture got here from the Democratic Celebration itself.
An account known as “The Infinite Dude” on X seemed to be the primary to share the picture with the caption: “That is faux”. The particular person behind the picture tells me his title is Blake and that he shared it as a part of an experiment. His profile doesn’t have practically as many followers as the opposite accounts I’ve been speaking to.
After I ask for proof that he doctored the picture, he informed me he has “the unique recordsdata and creation timestamps”, however he didn’t share these with me as he says proof does not likely matter.
“Individuals share content material not as a result of it is actual, however as a result of they need it to be actual. Either side do it equally – they simply select completely different tales to consider,” he says.
His political allegiance stays unclear and he says this “isn’t about politics”.
X says on-line that its precedence is to guard and defend the person’s voice. The positioning provides manipulated media labels to some AI-generated and doctored video, audio and pictures. It additionally has a characteristic known as Group Notes, which crowdsources fact-checking from customers.
Through the UK election, X did take motion over a community of accounts sharing faked clips that I investigated. Within the US election marketing campaign, nonetheless, I’ve acquired no response to my questions or requests to interview Elon Musk.
That issues – as a result of social media corporations like his might have an effect on what unfolds as voters head to the polls.
Marianna Spring investigated this story utilizing her Undercover Voters – 5 fictional characters based mostly on information from the Pew Analysis Centre – that enable her to interrogate what some completely different customers are beneficial on social media. Their social media accounts are non-public and don’t message actual individuals.
Find out more about them here – and on the BBC Americast podcast on BBC Sounds.
