It’s no secret that much of the internet is about influencing other people to do things. Because of this, it shouldn’t be a surprise that foreign actors can use social media to influence Joe and Jane Q. Public.

Now, the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) has determined that foreign actors are attempting to infiltrate the MAGA movement with the intent of dividing it against itself. The infiltraters have been aptly termed, “Fake MAGA”, and because these bots and fake accounts are sophisticated, they might not give the same kind of “hello fellow children” vibe as you might sense from your usual imposter.

It’s evident that leftists are also being infiltrated, but I’ll come back to that.

Because the report gets really specific and even names the names of some prominent figures in the fringe of the MAGA movement, the NCRI had better have been really careful in crossing its “i”s and dotting its “t”s (or however it’s supposed to go). Because if they muffed some things up, the NCRI might face some totes cereal defamation lawsuits.

The report alleges that foreign actors have created bot accounts on the social media platform we now know as X (formerly Twitter), creating accounts well in advance of events that they might comment on to give them the appearance of authenticity, and farming engagement for fringe MAGA personalities most likely to propagate messages sympathetic to Russia and Iran, increasing the likelihood that the greater MAGA movement will change their perspective given the peer pressure.

I strongly recommend reading the report for yourself. While some aspects can be questioned, it’s still an eye-opening report, and does a great job of explaining why we saw a recent spike in pro-Iranian MAGA chuds in recent days.

Among the names that were named in the report as carrying water for Fake MAGA are Nick Fuentes, Jake Shields, and Jackson Hinkle, as well as Draven Noctis, Megatron_Ron, and Adam eMedia. About half these names are ones I’ve heard of, and I’ve probably muted at least a couple because I got sick of their bullshit.

Among the allegations made by NCRI are that some of these personalities are in league with foreign actors, and benefitted from engagement farming.

From my perspective, Jake Shields and his ilk look like the kind of guys who would say anything if it were to net them engagement, and it’s hard to imagine them with any kind of sincere principle. As for me, if I were to wake up one morning next to five million dollars then discover that I got it by acting like Jake Shields, I’d probably set fire to the money, then jump into it.

As for the alleged bot accounts, the report alleges that a high volume of them were started around two specific dates: April 26 and October 28, both in the year 2022. These dates are approximate to, but not precisely on, the initiation and completion of Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter (April 14 and October 27th, respectively). To be fair, this would be about the time that many with sincerely-held right wing opinions may have started accounts, determining that the platform may become less hostile. However, the sudden influx in accounts would have made excellent cover for the influx of bots.

How does an ordinary user identify the bots? Before we get carried away and point to accounts created on those dates, remember that many sincere MAGA people were joining at around the dates mentioned above. The stronger giveaway is a sudden influx of so-called MAGA accounts posting sympathetically towards foreign adversaries.

Many of the accounts in question were so-called “groypers”, with heavily on-the-nose nationalistic sentiments, and they suspiciously drop “false flag” conspiracy theories in tandem with one another, particularly immediately after a significant event. Interestingly, many of these bots have had blue checkmarks purchased for them, adding to the illusion of authenticity.

When enough of these bots are acting in tandem, they can manipulate the algorithm to create the effect of a flood of their posts in the feeds of those on the right. The goal is to influence the opinions of right wingers through the illusion of peer pressure.

If you were on X immediately following the bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities by US forces, then you’ve probably seen a flood of Fake MAGA bot posts. And they seem to have continued until about mid-day yesterday, as though someone noticed that something was amiss, and pulled the plug on them.

Interestingly, other social media platforms didn’t have the same bot problem. YouTube didn’t have to put up with any Fake MAGA crap. Even Minds seemed unaffected. It was basically just X which was targeted.

Until the time that the party was over, the community did find a few Fake MAGA accounts on their own. At least one of them, which was subsequently deleted, was found by CatTurd. Another was outed by Community Notes:

A Fake MAGA proclaiming that he won’t die for a foreign country conjures the mental image of an overweight groyper sitting on his couch being handed conscription papers.

No one expects him to die for a foreign country. No one expects him to die for his own country. It’s more realistic to expect him to die from complications related to his own diet.

If you’re wondering whether bots and other Fake MAGA accounts can participate in surveys, yes, they can. It’s not a new thing, but here’s a recent example:

The Twitter survey, and all its famous scientific accuracy.

If you’ve never heard of Felix Rex, he’s a somewhat obscure YouTuber who sounded insightful back in 2016, but has since taken to schizo-posting. It’s gotten to the point that he believes that red-haired people are the descendents of an ancient race of genetically engineered humans.

June is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month, by the way.

While matters are relatively back to normal for the time being, there have been casualties in the recent bot insurgency. On the bright side, we now have a better idea of who the grifters are. In that sense, the Fake MAGA bots did us a favor.

But let’s not kid ourselves into thinking that it’s over. The fact is, America’s adversaries have found a new way to demoralize America, and it’s on us to remain true to ourselves, regardless of what an apparent majority may think. We saw what happens when a fake majority attempts to bandwagon Americans into thinking that Iran should be left to develop nukes.

I like to say, stand up for what’s right, even if you’re standing alone.

I said earlier that I’d come back to how leftists are probably handling it. Yes, leftists are being influenced by foreigners. And they don’t seem to have a defense. Stands to reason considering that they have an unhealthy amount of outgroup empathy, which the foreign adversaries can easily exploit.

I think the following cartoon illustrates how easily they can be influenced:

One way or another, the left is going to set cars on fire, throw molotov cocktails, and loot Apple stores. For what cause? Our foreign adversaries will decide.