X Just Accidentally Exposed a Covert Influence Network Targeting Americans
weaponizedspaces.substack.com
weaponizedspaces.substack.com
It should be visible on the post itself: where it was posted from, and where the author's account is mostly located. Just 2 little chips stuck on top of each and every post.
They could by default for example require an identification of some sort, and then allow “non-ID” accounts to exist but require specific opt-in to view broadly or something along those lines.
More easily though you can just delete your account and then you don’t have to care about any of this crap.
But I’d be in favor of even an in-person verification system though the costs to do that would be unpalatable but I guess you could stand up a 3rd party to do that. Maybe there are better solutions out there that I’m not thinking of. I do know it’s very much against what the larger social media companies would want though because they actively want you to be outraged and misinformed since they make a lot of money off of that.
How many of these accounts are Russian? I bet hardly any. My money is mostly from a small country in the middle east.
russians been interfering with other countries through all possible channels for decades.
They integrated with every single Ukrainian election (including the most recent one in 2019), they tried hijacking (with various success) elections in Romania, Moldova, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Estonia, etc..
This includes radio, tv, printed periodics, social networks, even popular music, movies, tv series and books...
So how much are you willing to bet that this time it's definitely not russians?
shitty little mena countries suck.
If you were to share this information publicly from the start, the troll/propagandist/agent would know this information is being shared as-is from the start, and they could adapt. Very likely they would adapt. Therefore, the effect would be much less severe.
It is also very obviously PII, which would hurt innocent people (likely a minority but I can imagine it happening).
My take: intelligence agencies were already interested in said information and mr. Musk was like "whatever, we'll just share this with everyone".
The old Twitter and its API had "source" field which showed the client app a tweet was sent from.
{ "created_at": "Mon Nov 20 12:34:56 +0000 2023", "id_str": "1726578932412345678", "full_text": "Example tweet", "source": "<a href=\"http://twitter.com/download/iphone\" rel=\"nofollow\">Twitter for iPhone</a>", ... }
I still remember looking at that tweet when the helos went in for OBL, from someone in Abottabad PK, saying something like "helicopters hovering at 2AM... this is a rare occurrence" (or something like that).
https://twitter.com/ControlPanelFT/status/199301008332080747...
I tried to tour an apartment complex, and they required me to use an online application for 'id verification. For a tour. A tour!
I'm sorry, but you do not require my social security number and pictures of my driver's license for me to use my eyeballs to see an apartment unit. What am I gonna do? Drive away with the apartment?
American Republicans have relied heavily on foreign interference to achieve their goals. From social media manipulation to laundering illegal political bribes, Republicans have been doing it.
the people who would care already knew about this. the people who didn't know about this don't care (or are in denial).
Govs doing influence campaigns was admitted during the twitter files [1]. While it's the US-relationship, Twitter is a global company so they're going to have other country relationships.
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter_Files#Nos._8%E2%80%939...
There was some great reporting about Macedonian teenagers doing this kind of thing back in 2016 - https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/fake-news-how-partying-ma... - it was actually the origin of the term "fake news" before Trump redefined it to mean any mainstream media coverage that he didn't like.
Second, this is about foreign influence driving a lot of the self-destructive politics in the US. Right now the US is going through economic and political destruction a lot like Brexit, and it should be no surprise that it's being lead by those outside of the US who want to make the US weaker.
My guy, there's like 40 words between my post and the source try reading them. They were doing influence campaigns ...
> [1] documents that showed the Twitter Site Integrity Team whitelisted accounts from United States Central Command (CENTCOM) used to run online influence campaigns in other countries
Why would twitter need to whitelist US influence campaigns? Because they're banning foreign ones! Reading between the lines is going to be a very useful skill in your career; don't just take things at face value, exaime what the thing means for its surroundings.
The original comment is correct, and your diversions have done nothing to refute them. The Twitter Files was a failed PR campaign by Musk that tried to demonize Twitter and justify his leadership. Maybe Elon would have had better luck if he exposed this campaign you're describing, but he didn't. Gotta save something for the X Files, I guess.
Why would I re-tread the twitter files when you won't even open the wikipedia link I initially posted that has the evidence you've spent two accounts and 3 posts asking for?
Mueller Report: “Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”
> “The same day CENTCOM sent the list, Twitter officials used a tool to grant a special “whitelist” tag that essentially provides verification status to the accounts w/o the blue check, meaning they are exempt from spam/abuse flags, more visible/likely to trend on hashtags,” Fang said.
I'd be interested in reading the "Twitter Files" corroborating this. I'm not saying it didn't happen, but I am definitely saying the files would be incredibly easy to defend were they simply released for public consumption and not slowly filtered out over time in short tweets by a few reporters selected by Elon Musk.
Is this an unfair take?
Give it time.
So far, we only know that X’s “About This Account” feature says a number of accounts, “the most noticeable and largest group” being “those reporting to be Trump fans,” are from suspicious locations.
We don’t know if X fucked up. We don’t know what fraction are via VPN. We don’t know if this Substack author is considering a biased sample. It may be individual profiteers. It could be one, or multiple, coördinated campaigns. X may be complicit or clueless.
I’d be surprised if serious journalists aren’t tasked on this. But it’s going to need to be one of the papers with investigative resources, i.e. ones with paying subscribers, and I’m not seeing anything here that screams this should be a top priority right now versus any time between now and the midterms, nor that it will be remotely easy doing the needed verifications.
(That said, the premise is incorrect. In limited cases, it’s gaining traction [1].)
[1] https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2025/11/x-about-this-...
The big surprise (disappointment) to me was witnessing how "do your own research" looks in practice.
- Type in some search terms.
- Open handful of the top hits.
- Believe everything.
- Even the obvious scams & ads.
The problem is that these companies do nothing about this.
Who is “we?” Not the media in the US, I’d wager.
Reddit also needs to have a feature like this.
This is certainly useful as a one-time reveal since the attackers didn't think this data would leak, but now can't they prepare better?
Ever since I noticed that when you register a decent domain, someone will instantly register a Twitter account with that name, I have started trying to preempt that.
I accidentally clicked a Twitter link the other day, while apparently still logged in to an account. I was on a VPN at that moment. Instant suspension within 15 seconds. It was astonishing.
Social media makes rage-baiting people into a lucrative career and opens it up to anyone with an internet connection.
X's new country-of-origin feature reveals many 'US' accounts to be foreign-run
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46028422
X begins rolling out 'About this account' location feature to users' profiles
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46024417
Top MAGA Influencers on X/Twitter Accidentally Unmasked as Foreign Trolls
I bet dollars to donuts that they are tipping the scale on stoking up tensions on UK users with things like migration and class division.
I only follow tech people on twitter, but if you looked at my FYP you'd think I was deeply interested in UK politics - which I am not!
think you'll be surprised in what has been signed for on your behalf.
You've got a chance if you use Mastodon or Bluesky, but you don't have control of the X algorithm.
There is literally a timeline that only shows the feed of people you follow.
Does it serve ads?
Also anyone that is taking any meaningful information from Twitter likely isn't really fussed about the details - they're after whoever is there is support their view.
From my pov, what a great change.
Anyone talking without specific location, it doesnt matter.
Anyone talking positively about something, it doesn't matter.
We now know more about those interacting in a negative way.
with one exception; someone in the US might not think about doing it in other countries
I believe one of the top three most murderous tyrants of the previous century had a quote about this very thing!
> new-generation wars are to be dominated by information and psychological warfare, ... morally and psychologically depressing the enemy’s armed forces personnel and civil population
Any kind of discord is good for Russia, every single panic and outrage that splits the population is good, even better when you get people to doubt "the media" in general.
Capitalism is responsible for much of this without the need for organisational control.
Or it's everyone being targeted by scammers posing as Gazans - these scammers are, for me, the vilest of the vile. No matter which team one is on regarding this particular conflict... abusing the dire situation in which many Gazans legitimately are to grift money is outright wrong.
We need to hold Russia and China, the most likely actors pulling the strings, accountable. No more niceties, no more playing with the big guys, until this kind of warfare stops. And so we should treat every country hosting the low-level agents. Clean shop or get hammered. I'm sick and tired of cyber crime, propaganda warfare and scamming our elderly. Enough is enough.
It's kind of tragic. He reminds me of Smeagol from Lord of the Rings. People lacking any virtue (like wisdom, compassion, or courage) are extremely vulnerable to external dark forces.
Musk has his own agenda.
Elon is a nut, but he's open about being a nut.
I guess the CTR for disinformation bot ads must be good?
Is the idea to weaken the UK? To what end?
Also, if it’s being done to us, surely we’re doing it back? The CIA and MI6 are no stranger to destabilising regimes, and yet surely it would be more common knowledge if we were employing people to post anti-Putin propaganda on Russian forums?
Also, it would be a general black eye for the UK, which has been very supportive of the defense of Ukraine.
BTW, I had not seen that show, but if they are getting things even close to accurate once in a blue moon, then I may do so. Thanks.
Another answer: with sanctions on Russian oil, and hopefully finally waking up to the fact that we cannot rely on any traditional foreign partners... yes.
Look at what China has done. They know they have no reliable sources and delivery routes for liquid fossil fuels. So, they took the reigns of their own destiny and created PV and battery production on a scale that changed the world.
Meanwhile, we in the EU, let Northvolt go under, and we closed down domestic PV production... like babes in the woods. (children wandering the the forest full of wolves)
Letting Northvolt shut down was one of the dumbest strategic things in modern European history, and that is saying a lot. I still have hope that it can somehow be resurrected.
The question is whether this makes sense when Norway produces cheaper hydrocarbons just next door. The production sites there are every bit as vulnerable to Russian attacks as those next to Scotland.
It seems completely impossible, and yet somewhat inevitable. As I write this, I am sitting just a 30 minute drive into Silesia from the CZ border. In my car I receive PL, CZ, and DE radio stations.
The first I heard of the concept of a Federalized EU, it was from very excited international younger folks in Prague.
Don't push it, let it come naturally, if it does. Both CS and YU were built in a top-down fashion, without explicit consent of the nations involved, and this proved fatal eventually. Don't repeat the same mistake again.
Yes, of course, the same with Brexit. It is is in Iran and Russia's interests for their enemies to be divided and distracted by internal conflict.
Until USAID got gutted, yes. Now not sure.
a couple hundred thousand dollars to potentially eliminate the UK as a nuclear power? seems like a no brainer if you're iran/russia
You have it backwards. Americans were the first to do that, Russia and other were clearly lagging behind and acting in response.
Only the normies are surprised and the pearl clutching on HN is farcical. You should know better by now.
I guess the outrage must be manufactured so let’s all join hands and pretend we are shocked by this news and demand something be done, I guess. Slow news week.
There is no evidence presented that there is any state sponsored conspiracy going on. Nor would you need one to explain what we're seeing.
The author also presents no evidence that Pro-Trump accounts are disproportionately represented among accounts lying about their country of residence.
Ultimately, this is just evidence-free gesturing at some grand conspiracy. Cherrypicking the bits that are red meat to her (and apparently HN's) audience.
It strikes me as wage arbitrage if anything, an opportunity for these engagement farmers to make very good money (relatively), an opportunity which was all-but-explicitly created by Elon Musk's payout system.
All else aside, its very funny that this is an example of a market-maker once again (un)intentionally destabilizing the social fabric they talk so much about.
Nobody seems to remember it now because the narrative got shifted to "Russians manipulating the election" but, in 2015/16, the whole "Fake News" phenomenon was originally attributed to click bait websites being thrown up to get Facebook/AdWords revenue. I believe it was a European outlet interviewing an Indian person, IIRC. (Found it, or one of them, this isn't the one I remember and it's from after the election) [1].
Once the narrative turned to it being Russian bots influencing the election (to further the "Trump as a Russian agent" narrative, speaking of fake news...), that reporting seemed to dry up.
[1] https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/11/23/50...
Elon then turned on Matt Taibbi and banned him from Twitter when he wouldn't go along with his lying and spin.
the 2016 "revelations" were a nothing-burger, ginned up as cover for the actual dangerous conspiracy, to spy on a rival political campaign in a scandal that eclipses Watergate.
Do you have any desire, or idea, on how to curb cyber-agitprop from enemy nations? Is living in a world with rampant, effective, agitprop on the internet with zero reaction the least of all evils?
The problem is that most americans do not know first hand how the real censorship looks like. In the context of the previous discussion in that thread, chinese and russian firewalls block any discussion of gay rights issues. Do you think the US will be any different? We are all humans with the same deficiencies. Any "firewall", however it is implemented, will be a double edged sword that will eventually start cutting one way, and you won't like the result.
To sum it up, yes, it's the least of all evils.
If you would like to deride the answer, I assure you I am quite immune to the effort.
I think that agitprop campaigns are identifiable by the organizations on which they operate, and that site operators should consider that akin to spam and delete it.
Of course I do not advocate an actual firewall. We saw Instagram and the US try to censor the carnage in Gaza, and "allies" like Israel have acknowledged their desire to control the information space to suit their narrative.
Thank you for a real response.
Ban anonymous comments.
>Is living in a world with rampant, effective, agitprop on the internet with zero reaction the least of all evils?
Given the impact on political discourse and outcomes, I would say most definitely not.
The interesting part of this story is why was this switched on now, by whom? Why was it briefly turned off? Was that an attempt to put the genie back in the bottle?
This could just as easily be X, trying to influence opinions on the nature of America's divisive classes, which is to say there is just as much evidence that is the case as any other circumstances one might conclude.
Following occams razor, I think they released a broken feature and have taken it down since then to fix it. Which leads all these "revelations" to be based on incomplete or false data. Not to say the site isn't filled with bots and influence campaigns, it absolutely is. But basing that conclusion on this location information is foolish.