What are fake profiles and astroturfing, and how do they affect political communication online?

• A. Fabricated accounts and coordinated inauthentic behavior create the illusion of broad support or opposition
• B. Real accounts with random posting patterns
• C. Official government accounts collaborating with NGOs
• D. User reports of spam

Answer: (A)

Fake profiles and astroturfing involve fabricated accounts acting in concert to mislead audiences, creating the appearance of broad grassroots support or opposition for a political message. This deception shapes political communication online by boosting certain narratives, amplifying messages beyond what genuine individuals would, and influencing how people perceive where public opinion stands. When platforms’ engagement-driven algorithms pick up these inauthentic signals, they can spread the content more widely, making a manufactured consensus feel real and swaying real users and even policymakers. Real accounts posting randomly or without coordination wouldn’t generate the same deceptive impression of widespread mobilization, and legitimate collaborations between governments and NGOs aren’t about manipulation. Similarly, user reports of spam describe nuisance messages, not a coordinated attempt to distort political discourse.