dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
Search similar:


uniqs
247
HELLFIRE
MVM
join:2009-11-25

8 recommendations

HELLFIRE

MVM

Twitter uturns on blue checkmark'd bot accts

»www.theregister.com/2021 ··· ed_fake/
quote:
Twitter verified a bunch of bot accounts, granting them coveted blue check marks, and then reversed the decision, admitting it made a mistake. The debacle swung the spotlight on the social network's system for verifying accounts, which is normally reserved for qualifying celebs, politicians, sports stars, experts, journos, and similar netizens. A tweeter going by the handle Conspirador NorteƱo, who claims to fight online disinformation, found that none of the six accounts in question, created in June, had actually posted any tweets and that, for each of them, their thousand or so followers were largely the same accounts. Yet, the sextet had been verified as supposedly authentic and notable people by Twitter when they were anything but. It all points to a network of fake users likely intended to boost particular issues or campaigns on Twitter using their special status. To add to the mystery, this network of fake accounts used profile pictures seemingly created by AI software: a generative adversarial network was likely behind at least some of the photos and illustrations of women and cats used as avatars. These unique images won't show up in reverse-image searches in Google or TinEye, making them more believable. If the pics were stolen from people's Instagram profiles, for instance, it would be too obvious they were bogus. Alex Stamos, Facebook's former head of security, earlier speculated Twitter "might have a malicious or bribed insider," adding that "something similar happened" at Facebook-owned Instagram, in which spammers bought verified badges for their accounts.
I don't partake in Twitter, but this story sheds some interesting light behind the curtain that surrounds Twitter... take what you will from this story.

Regards