Lunatic

There's a strange story that hasn't gotten much attention, but is very telling.  (Since it was uncovered, in part, by CNN, it may get traction, at least online where they reported the scoop.)  It's that tweets are being sent out from fake TwiXter accounts using the photos of popular European influencers that endorse Trump.  Many, if not all of them, having the Blue Check Marks validating the accounts that, thanks to Elon Musk, anyone can buy.

What makes the story crazy, if not bizarre is that while the photos are of real people -- European influencers, as I said -- the accounts for them are under fictitious names.  This means that few people in the United States (y'know, the people who actually vote) would have the slightest idea who they are and therefore would mean absolutely nothing to them.  So, why on Earth, use these people?  The thinking is that using real people makes the fake accounts seem more personal -- totally understandable, except that if that's what you want, you could use the photos of anyone.  And if you didn't want to use photos of American citizens who might be recognized here, okay, makes sense, then use photos of people who live in Lithuania.  Or Slovenia.  Or Albania.  (Actually, Liechtenstein would be ideal -- it's not only tiny, but begins with "Lie.")  You'd probably be pretty safe from detection with any of them.  But instead, for some crackpot reason, they decided to use photos of among the most popular influencers in Europe!  Who have a reasonable chance of being recognized by fans in Europe and bring attention to the scam.  Maybe they thought more eye-catching photos were available they could use -- but posting intimate photos of oneself is a feature, not a bug on social media.  Perhaps even more so for private individual more than professional influencers with a high profile.  So, it's…well, weird.  One more weird thing in the weird Trump campaign.

By the way, to be clear, this isn't a funny story, but something deeply serious.  It's just that the handling of something this sophisticated was so comically screwy that it helped allow the scam to be uncovered.

One example, in this article from CNN, is a a fake TwiXter account with a very large following for someone named "Luna" - who is fictious  -- however it uses a photo of Debbie Nederlof, a German fashion influencer who, of course, can't vote in the United States.  CNN contacted, Ms. Nederlof - who is a trained optician and single mother working two jobs (a social media manager at an engineering firm and as a mode).  As CNN described it, she was "was angry and frustrated that her face was being used to push pro-Trump propaganda" on the social media platform.

"To be honest, 'what the f**k?' was my reaction," she said. "That was my reaction, because I have nothing to do with the United States. With Trump, the political things over there. What the hell do I - from a small place in Germany - care about US politics?"
​

"Not 'Luna.'"  AKA Debbie Nederlof.

​This was uncovered by a joint CNN investigation with the Centre for Information Resilience.  CIR is an independent, non-profit social enterprise that is dedicated to exposing human rights abuses. (CNN says that the Centre gets its funding from governments, NGOs and individuals.)  Together, they've so far found 56 fake profiles -- many of them, not shockingly, attractive women -- using a combination digital sleuthing and reverse image search tools, finding what they say appears to be "part of a coordinated campaign backing the Trump-Vance ticket ahead of the 2024 presidential election."

CNN adds that there is no indication that the Trump campaign is involved, and that instead the most likely perpetrators are Russia, Iran and China.  They write, as well, that "Experts say this could be just the tip of the iceberg. An analysis of the 56 pro-Trump accounts reveals a systematic pattern of inauthentic behavior."

In some ways, it almost doesn't matter whether the Trump campaign is involved.  ("Almost."  And always, just because CNN says there's no evidence yet that the campaign is involved, that doesn't mean the evidence is there but hasn't been found.  Or that the Trump campaign isn't involved but knows about it and hasn't done anything to denounce it publicly.  Or, of course, maybe they're pure as the driven snow.  That is possible.  Although, at the very least, with CNN reporting the story, they most certainly are aware of it now.  And crickets.  Not a word of repudiation, on behalf of fair, honest and open elections.) Of course, yes, it absolutely does matter if the Trump campaign is involved in any way, but the reason I say it "almost" doesn't matter is for who is, in fact, involved, and who they are promoting.

The fact that three authoritarian, repressive governments are likely believed to be pushing Trump's candidacy - and by deceit - is almost as important as whether or not the Trump campaign is involved.  It speaks loudly to what the Trump campaign is, and who it appeals to on the world stage.

Of course it's not a surprise in any way that authoritarian, repressive governments support Trump.  But the reality that the Trump campaign, even if not directly involved in any ways, is keeping silent thus far and happily accepting the election fraud makes this a major story.  All the more because it's Trump and his Trump campaign that has been crying out about election fraud and rigging election as the centerpiece of their push to undermine trust in elections in the United States.

I have no idea if a fraud like this has much, if any, chance of influencing the election.  Getting people -- who are not yet committed on voting for Trump after eight years of seeing him on the political stage -- to decide that now "He's my guy!" all because a pretty girl you'll never ever meet in your entire life is endorsing him. Maybe some will change their votes, probably some will, but it would seem that if so, the numbers would be pretty small.  Even small by standards needed for a close election like this.  Who knows?  

However, if you want to get people to change their votes, writing tweets like “Would You Support Trump Being The President forever? I wonder if you all support Trump for president just like me" -- which was actually posted by the fake "Luna," accompanied by a photo of her in a bikini on the beach -- would seem to be the kind of thing that would almost exclusively appeal to people who already are enthralled by the idea of not only electing Trump in 2024 but "forever."  Yes, it did get an amazing 54,000 views -- though I suspect they were mostly looking at the bikini more than the words typed.

Again, to repeat, this is actually a very serious matter.  Foreign government trickery to influence a U.S. election is not only something we saw to a troubling degree when Trump ran before, but something all sides should be vigilant against, even if both sides don't appear to be.  It's just that screwing it all up so badly by using pictures of reasonably-known people does suggest fairly lame-brained thinking behind it all.

But then, so does putting "JD Vance" on the Trump ticket.  Not to mention making your nominee a convicted felon found liable for rape and guilty of fraud.  So...who knows?  Weird does seem to be the brand.  So, maybe the government behind this just figured that was the strategy.  That and against going with "election fraud" as your slogan.  It's gotten the MAGOP this far, after all.

You can read the full, fascinating article here.