In 2025, we stress-tested the social media ecosystem. As part of the “𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲” experiment we examined how easy it is to buy inauthentic engagement and how effectively platforms detect and remove it.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱:
🔹 More than 30,000 inauthentic accounts generated over 100,000 fake engagements – all for a relatively small budget.
🔹 While enforcement improved compared to previous years, manipulation remains widely accessible, scalable, and increasingly sophisticated.
🔹 AI-enabled orchestration allowed fully automated content production and distribution.
🔹 Ad manipulation, although more expensive than organic engagement, remains feasible.
🔹 Cryptocurrency infrastructure continues to provide low-visibility payment channels.
🔹 A shift in amplified narratives toward military themes,, particularly pro-China content, was observed across multiple platforms.
🔹 Platforms are improving but the manipulation market is adapting just as quickly.
🔎 Main takeaways:
1️⃣ 𝗘𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵
Account and engagement removals increased compared to previous years, yet large portions of fake activity still remain online weeks later. Detection remains uneven across platforms.
2️⃣ 𝗔𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
Fully automated workflows can now generate and distribute content across platforms without human intervention. Modern bots no longer rely on spam volume, they embed themselves into real conversations using AI-generated, context-aware content.
3️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲
Low costs, accessible providers, and crypto-based payments enable sustained commercial manipulation. Some providers processed six-figure USD volumes over short periods indicating consistent demand and operational scale.
The core challenge is no longer just spam detection. It is behavioural, financial, and cross-platform coordination detection in an environment where influence operations are becoming cheaper, smarter, and harder to attribute.
Link to the full research report available in comments! ⬇️
Read the full report here: https://stratcomcoe.org/publications/social-media-manipulation-for-sale-2025-experiment-on-platform-capabilities-to-detect-and-counter-inauthentic-social-media-engagement/338
SocialMedia #Disinformation #AI #StratCom
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