How X users earn thousands from US election misinformation and AI images

Some users on X who spend their days sharing content material that features election misinformation, AI-generated images and unfounded conspiracy theories say they’re being paid “thousands of dollars” by the social media web site.

The BBC recognized networks of dozens of accounts that re-share one another’s content material a number of occasions a day – together with a mixture of true, unfounded, false and faked materials – to spice up their attain, and due to this fact, income on the location.

Several say earnings from their very own and different accounts vary from a few hundred to thousands of {dollars}.

They additionally say they coordinate sharing one another’s posts on boards and group chats. “It’s a way of trying to help each other out,” one consumer stated.

Some of those networks assist Donald Trump, others Kamala Harris, and some are impartial. Several of those profiles – which say they don’t seem to be related to official campaigns – have been contacted by US politicians, together with congressional candidates, on the lookout for supportive posts.

On 9 October, X modified its guidelines so the funds made to eligible accounts with a major attain are calculated in line with the quantity of engagement from premium users – likes, shares and feedback – quite than the variety of advertisements below their posts.

Many social media websites permit users to earn cash from their posts or to share sponsored content material. But they typically have guidelines which permit them to de-monetise or droop profiles that put up misinformation. X doesn’t have pointers on misinformation in the identical means.

While X has a smaller consumer base than some websites, it has a major affect on political discourse. It raises questions on whether or not X is incentivising users to put up provocative claims, whether or not they’re true or not, at a extremely delicate second for US politics.

The BBC in contrast the approximate earnings reported by a few of these X users with the quantity they’d be anticipated to earn, primarily based on their variety of views, followers and interactions with different profiles, and discovered them to be credible.

Among the deceptive posts shared by a few of these networks of profiles have been claims about election fraud which had been rebutted by authorities, and excessive, unfounded allegations of paedophilia and sexual abuse towards the presidential and vice-presidential candidates.

Some deceptive and false posts that originated on X have additionally spilled on to different social media websites with a much bigger viewers, reminiscent of Facebook and TikTok.

In one instance, an X consumer with a small following says he created a doctored picture purporting to indicate Kamala Harris working at McDonald’s as a younger girl. Other users then pushed evidence-free claims that the Democratic Party was manipulating images of its candidate.

Unfounded conspiracy theories from X concerning the July assassination try on Donald Trump have been additionally picked up on different social media websites.

X didn’t reply to questions on whether or not the location is incentivising users to put up like this, nor to requests to interview proprietor Elon Musk.

Freedom Uncut’s content material creation lair – the place he streams and makes movies – is embellished with fairy lights within the form of an American flag. He says he’s an impartial, however would quite Donald Trump turns into president than Kamala Harris.

Free – as his associates name him – says he can spend as much as 16 hours a day in his lair posting on X, interacting with the community of dozens of content material creators he’s part of, and sharing AI-generated photos. He doesn’t share his full title or actual identification as a result of he says his household’s private data has been uncovered on-line, resulting in threats.

He is in no way one of the crucial excessive posters, and has agreed to satisfy me and clarify how these networks on X function.

He says he has had 11 million views over the previous few months since he started posting usually concerning the US election. He brings a number of up on the display as we chat at his house in Tampa, Florida.

Some are clearly satire – Donald Trump trying like a personality in The Matrix as he brushes apart bullets, or President Joe Biden as a dictator. Other AI images are much less fantastical – together with a picture of somebody on the roof of their flooded house as fighter jets cross by, with the remark: “Remember that politicians don’t care about you on November 5th.”

The picture echoes Mr Trump’s declare that there have been “no helicopters, no rescue” for folks in North Carolina following Hurricane Helene. The declare has been rebutted by the North Carolina National Guard, which says it rescued lots of of individuals in 146 flight missions.

Freedom Uncut says he sees his images as “art” that sparks a dialog. He says he’s “not trying to fool anybody” however that he can “do so much more by using AI”.

Since his profile was monetised, he says he could make within the “low thousands” month-to-month from X: “I think it’s become a lot easier for people to make money.”

He provides that some users he is aware of have been making greater than 5 figures and claims he may corroborate this by seeing the attain of their posts: “It’s at that point it really does become a job.”

He says it’s the “controversial” stuff that tends to get essentially the most views – and compares this to “sensationalist” conventional media.

While he posts “provocative stuff”, he says it’s “usually based in some version of reality”. But he means that different profiles he sees are glad to share posts they know to not be true. This, he says, is a simple “money-maker”.

Freedom Uncut dismisses considerations about false claims influencing the election, claiming the federal government “spreads more misinformation than the rest of the internet combined”.

He additionally says it’s “very common” for native politicians to achieve out to accounts like his on X for assist. He says a few of them have chatted to him about showing on his reside streams and spoken to him about creating and sharing memes, AI images and art work for them.

Could any of those posts – deceptive or not – have a tangible affect this election?

“I think that you’re seeing that currently. I think that a lot of the Trump support comes from that,” he says.

In Freedom Uncut’s view, there may be “more trust in independent media” – together with accounts sharing AI-generated images and misinformation – than in “some traditional media companies”.

Going head-to-head with the pro-Trump accounts Freedom Uncut describes are profiles reminiscent of Brown Eyed Susan, who has greater than 200,000 followers on X.

She is a part of a community of “die-hard” accounts posting content material a number of occasions each hour in assist of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. While she makes use of her first title, she doesn’t share her surname due to threats and abuse she has obtained on-line.

Speaking to me from Los Angeles, Susan says she by no means supposed to start out earning profits from her posts – or for her account’s attain to “explode”. Sometimes she posts and re-shares greater than 100 messages a day – and her particular person posts typically attain greater than two million users every.

She says she solely makes cash from her posts as a result of she was awarded a blue tick, which marks paid users on the location and some outstanding accounts. “I didn’t ask for it. I can’t hide it, and I can’t return it. So I clicked on monetise,” she tells me, estimating she will be able to make a few hundred {dollars} a month.

Aside from posting about coverage, a few of her most viral posts – racking up greater than three million views – have promoted unfounded and false conspiracy theories suggesting the July assassination try was staged by Donald Trump.

She acknowledges {that a} member of the group and the shooter have been killed, however says she has real questions on Donald Trump’s damage, the safety failings, and whether or not the incident has been correctly investigated.

“There’s no way to get to the truth in this. And if they want to call it conspiratorial, they can,” she says.

Susan additionally shares memes, a few of which use AI, taking purpose on the Republican contender. Several extra convincing examples make him look older or unwell. She says these “illustrate his current condition”.

Others present him trying like a dictator. She maintains that each one her images are “obvious” fakes.

Like Freedom Uncut, she says politicians, together with congressional candidates, have contacted her for assist, and she says she tries to “spread as much awareness” as she will be able to for them.

Following a row over whether or not Kamala Harris as soon as labored at McDonald’s, a doctored picture of her within the quick meals chain’s uniform was shared on Facebook by her supporters and went viral.

When some pro-Trump accounts realised it was an edited picture of a special girl within the uniform, it triggered unfounded accusations that the picture got here from the Democratic Party itself.

An account known as “The Infinite Dude” on X gave the impression to be the primary to share the picture with the caption: “This is fake”. The individual behind the picture tells me his title is Blake and that he shared it as a part of an experiment. His profile doesn’t have practically as many followers as the opposite accounts I’ve been speaking to.

When I ask for proof that he doctored the picture, he advised me he has “the original files and creation timestamps”, however he didn’t share these with me as he says proof does not likely matter.

“People share content not because it’s real, but because they want it to be real. Both sides do it equally – they just choose different stories to believe,” he says.

His political allegiance stays unclear and he says this “isn’t about politics”.

X says on-line that its precedence is to guard and defend the consumer’s voice. The web site provides manipulated media labels to some AI-generated and doctored video, audio and images. It additionally has a function known as Community Notes, which crowdsources fact-checking from users.

During the UK election, X did take motion over a community of accounts sharing faked clips that I investigated. In the US election marketing campaign, nevertheless, I’ve obtained no response to my questions or requests to interview Elon Musk.

That issues – as a result of social media firms like his may have an effect on what unfolds as voters head to the polls.

Marianna Spring investigated this story utilizing her Undercover Voters – 5 fictional characters primarily based on knowledge from the Pew Research Centre – that permit her to interrogate what some completely different users are advisable on social media. Their social media accounts are non-public and don’t message actual folks.

Find out extra about them right here – and on the BBC Americast podcast on BBC Sounds.