Trump's Troll Accounts Steal Photos of European Women

CNN You have help progressA nonprofit that exposes abuse of all kinds has identified 56 accounts that praise Trump but whose images are actually of other people. The images, which in many cases have been manipulated, are of young women who did not consent to their use in this way.

The woman who appeared On the now-shuttered account, @Luna_2K24 described himself as a 32-year-old “MAGA Trump supporter” who promoted numerous conspiracy theories about his rival Kamala Harris. But these “Luna” photos are of fashion influencer Debbie Niederlof from Trier, Germany.

“Honestly, my reaction was, ‘What the hell?’ I have nothing to do with America or Trump or politics there. Why the hell would I, from a small town in Germany, care about American politics?” she told CNN.

Through digital detective work and so-called reverse image searches, the review paints a picture that the fake accounts are part of a coordinated campaign that may just be the tip of the iceberg. The messages are often the same, including grammatical errors, and are seen and shared by tens of thousands of others.

– This could be A state actor. The level of sophistication suggests it could be any of a number of hostile states, including Russia, Iran and China. We know that several of them have used social media to try to sow disinformation ahead of the 2024 election, says Emily Horne, who was also the current White House National Security Council press director.

– Posts with images of women tend to generate greater engagement with certain target groups for this type of content. Especially young, disaffected men who may be more politically inclined to engage with such content.