Dozens of Facebook groups bill themselves as Kamala Harris fan pages but mount racist attacks, criticize her record on immigration and promote her rival Donald Trump, in what disinformation researchers call a "bait-and-switch" tactic aimed at deceiving voters in a tight US election race. The Washington-based American Sunlight Project analyzed over 300 groups on the Meta-owned platform that masquerade as pro-Harris pages while misleading the Democratic contender's supporters with abusive, hateful posts or capitalize on her popularity to promote merchandise. The proliferation of such Facebook groups, which typically bring together communities with shared interests, does not appear to be an organized effort and illustrates a sophisticated tactic to seed false election narratives in trusted online spaces.
"These are usually places where there is a high level of trust between members, making them more likely to believe what is being shared there, whether that is election disinformation, miracle cures or memes," Nina Jankowicz, ASP's co-founder and chief executive, told AFP. The "bait-and-switch" tactic appears to target actors across the political spectrum, including Trump. But Jankowicz, the former Department of Homeland Security disinformation chief, said her research outfit noticed an "explosion" of such groups focused on Harris since she entered the presidential race over the summer.
One group purports to be a space for "Kamala Harris fans," with its "about" section hailing he.