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‘My identity is stolen’: Photos of European influencers used to push pro-Trump propaganda on fake X accounts (www.cnn.com)

submitted 2 months ago by Theprogressivist@lemmy.world to c/politics@lemmy.world

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Luna, a self-described 32-year-old “MAGA Trump supporter” from the battleground state of Wisconsin, has gained a huge following since she joined X, formerly Twitter, in March. Her timeline has become a digital bullhorn for the “Make America Great Again” movement, praising former President Donald Trump’s re-election bid, promoting conspiracy theories about his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, and touting Republican talking points to nearly 30,000 followers, who she addresses as “patriots.”

“Would You Support Trump Being The President forever? I wonder if you all support Trump for president just like me,” @Luna_2K24 posted on July 29, sharing a beach selfie in a white bikini and asking her followers to respond with an American flag emoji if they agreed. The post was viewed by around 54,000 people.

But Luna isn’t real. The photos of the smiling brunette posted periodically on @Luna_2K24’s timeline are of Debbie Nederlof, a German fashion influencer who lives across the Atlantic and won’t be voting in the US presidential election in November. When CNN reached out to the 32-year-old, a trained optician and single mother who is working two jobs – as a social media manager at an engineering firm and as a model to raise money for her child – she was angry and frustrated that her face was being used to push pro-Trump propaganda on X.

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[-] gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 18 points 2 months ago

If you saw the investor list that was posted a week or so ago on various sites and linked from a bunch of posts all over the fediverse, a significant fraction (perhaps a financial majority - not sure) kinda obviously have primary goals that do not really demand profit at all (I.e. they bought in to have a stake in one of the biggest social networks in existence, and use their stake to make demands on the implementers and maintainers of said network).

this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2024

209 points (98.6% liked)

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