Current Events > Researchers Discovered Bots on X Using AI to Stoke Controversy Over Epstein

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Researchers have identified over 400 AI-driven accounts on the X social media platform formerly Twitter that are flooding replies with pro-Trump talking points. But as MAGA ranks break over the administrations handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, cracks in the accounts messaging are starting to show.

Analytics firm Alethea and Clemson Universitys Media Forensics Hub worked with NBC News to identify hundreds of bot accounts that inundate the platforms algorithm with praise for high-level conservative leaders key Trump administration people like Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Researchers discovered the bot network because theyve been working to develop tools that analyze conversations on social media to better understand when they are being manipulated by outside actors, said Clemson economics professor Patrick Warren, who co-directs the Media Forensics Lab.

It is by no means the first network of AI-empowered accounts that we've found, and certainly won't be the last, Warren said.

The accounts which are increasing rapidly use AI to write content and help the program understand what content to engage with. Its not clear who is behind the accounts. But they all share similar traits: They were all created in the same time period in 2024. They use lots of irrelevant hashtags. And most of their engagement is replying back to other users.

Most of the time, the bots have consistent messaging, posting support for conservative figures like President Donald Trump and other conservative politicians who were on the ballot in 2024.

Until the Epstein files.

For years, a core group of MAGA voters believed that Trump would expose a list of rich and powerful clients tied to sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein and voted accordingly.

But when Attorney General Pam Bondi announced she would not release additional Epstein files earlier this month and when it surfaced that Trumps name was among them the accounts messaging has reflected the growing rift within Trumps voter base.

Exciting news! The White House is taking action to protect President Trump from unfair journalism, wrote one account July 21 in response to a conservative news post. Kudos to Press Secretary Leavitt for standing up for truth and transparency. #MAGA

Meanwhile, another account sent dozens of replies to posts and videos of Trump speaking to the press about the Epstein files, including one where Trump urged reporters to focus on former President Bill Clinton instead of himself.

Dude is not going to explain this away. Keep getting him on the mic. Let him incriminate himself, it wrote July 25.

Some accounts are even sending opposing messages concurrently. When Bondi said she would not release additional files, another account said she comes out clean as the DOJ confirms no Epstein client list found, while reaffirming his death by suicide.

Since then, it changed its messaging, telling multiple users there should be a full revolt against the Trump administration.

That messaging echoes inner turmoil within the Republican party, which is usually quick to rally around Trump. While 40 percent of Republicans said they approve of how Trump handled the release of the Epstein files, 36 percent of them disapprove, according to a July 16 poll from Quinnipiac University. Nearly two-thirds of Americans disapprove of how the administration handled the case, according to the poll.

Researchers at Clemson are concerned the growing networks of bots will make it harder for people to know real facts and opinions around specific policy issues on social media.

It takes up space from real people, Warren said. If those replies are completely flooded with a bunch of fake accounts that are spewing a coordinated and inauthentic message, that makes it harder for real Americans voices to be heard.

Researchers at Clemson are concerned the growing networks of bots will make it harder for people to know real facts and opinions around specific policy issues on social media.

Literally probably Elon

well i have a solution, stop using fucking twitter for your news?

But how is someone addicted to their precious nazi websight supposed to break from it?

well i have a solution, stop using fucking twitter for your news?

They only found 400 accounts? I wouldn't be surprised if 99% of Twitter users are bots.

Twitter will go down in history as the birthplace of the dead Internet.

"Everyone just spontaneously decide to change their behavior" isn't a solution, it's a pipedream.