The faces of European influencers have been slapped on a slew of pro-Donald Trump social media accounts raising concerns that hostile state actors from countries such as Russia or China may be trying to sow disinformation ahead of the 2024 presidential election, a new investigative report found.
CNN collaborated with the Centre for Information Resilience on a deep-dive global investigation into the theft of 17 real European women's identities who have said they have no interest in supporting Trump's presidential campaign.
“To be honest, ‘what the f---?’ was my reaction," German fashion influencer Debbie Nederlof, 32, told CNN. "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?”
Yet it's Nederlof's face that appeared on the X profile of a "MAGA Trump supporter" from Wisconsin named Luna who has been praising Trump and slamming Harris to nearly 30,000 followers since March, according to the investigation.
“Would You Support Trump Being The President forever?" @Luna_2K24 posted on July 29, along with a beach selfie. "I wonder if you all support Trump for president just like me."
This is just one of 56 X profiles identified by CNN and CIR in which beautiful, young women appear to support Trump with manipulated imagery and hashtags such as #MAGAPatriots, #MAGA2024 and #IFBAP, which stands for "I Follow Back All Patriots."
The outlet notes there’s no indication the Trump campaign is involved.
"Experts say this could be just the tip of the iceberg," the report states.
Benjamin Strick, CIR’s director of investigation, told CNN he was alarmed by the content of the messaging appearing next to otherwise relatable content.
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“By hijacking images of the influencers, these accounts clearly recognise the value of creating a believable human persona that followers can relate to," Strick told CNN. “Some of these accounts are also posting disinformation and conspiracy theories – which in some cases are accruing thousands of views.”
Neriah Tellerup Andersen, a 22-year-old influencer from Denmark, told CNN she shared his concerns.
“I feel used, like someone is taking something from me," Andersen said. "I don’t want to think people think that I do what those profiles are sometimes promoting.”
Emily Horne, Twitter's former global head of policy communications and a former senior director at President Joe Biden's National Security Council, raised the specter of an outside state actor.
"The level of sophistication indicates it could be any of the hostile state actors, including Russia, Iran and China,” said Horne. “We know that there are multiple state actors who have been using social media to try and sow disinformation campaigns in the run up to the 2024 election."
