Online Manipulation
The internet has become one of the most important public spaces in the world. This is where people discuss, get informed, and form opinions. But not all voices in this space belong to real people.
Today, a single individual or organization can control hundreds or even thousands of fake accounts that amplify messages, create artificial virality, and distort public perception — at an industrial scale.
What are fake accounts
A fake account is a social media profile that does not represent a real person, or that is controlled in a coordinated way to manipulate online conversations.
Fake accounts can be operated in two ways:
Automated — through bots. Software programs that post, comment, and share content without human intervention, 24/7.
Manual — through account farms. Real people hired to operate dozens or hundreds of fake accounts simultaneously, following precise instructions on what to post and when.
How coordinated manipulation works
- Network creation — hundreds or thousands of fake accounts created with fabricated histories, AI-generated photos, and seemingly normal behavior.
- Coordinated activation — at a signal, all accounts start posting, commenting, or sharing the same message.
- Algorithmic amplification — platform algorithms interpret the massive activity as organic popularity and promote the content.
- Perception distortion — real users come to believe an opinion is widely supported, when in fact it is the result of a coordinated network.
What happens in reality: documented cases
Romania, 2024 — presidential elections
The Romanian Intelligence Service and the Supreme Council of National Defense publicly documented a large-scale online manipulation campaign during the 2024 presidential elections. Networks of coordinated accounts on TikTok artificially amplified a candidate in less than two weeks, creating a false perception of massive popularity. The Constitutional Court annulled the first round of the elections, explicitly citing these interferences.
The official TikTok report documents the scale of the problem: over 115,000 fake accounts removed, 45 million fake likes blocked, over 7 million fake likes removed, over 11 million fake followers removed, and over 1,100 accounts impersonating presidential candidates.
Sources: VIGINUM report (02.2025), TikTok Newsroom
France, Germany, Spain — the Doppelganger operation
European cybersecurity services documented a coordinated campaign that used thousands of fake accounts and websites impersonating real media outlets to spread political disinformation across multiple EU member states.
Sources: European Parliament (official report on foreign interference), European Commission (DSA proceedings against X and Meta), EDMO – European Digital Media Observatory
Global level
Meta, Twitter/X, and TikTok have periodically removed networks of hundreds of thousands of coordinated fake accounts — originating from Russia, China, Iran, and other states — targeting public opinion in Western democracies.
Sources: “The Russia Report” (UK Parliament Security Committee), House of Commons DCMS report on fake news and Cambridge Analytica, EUvsDisinfo – 45 000 Russian messages about Brexit in 48 hours
Why platforms do not solve the problem on their own
Social media platforms have commercial interests that sometimes conflict with removing fake accounts. More active users mean more data and more advertising — regardless of whether those users are real or not.
The DSA already requires large platforms to reduce systemic risks, including coordinated manipulation. But without a European standard for identity verification, platforms do not have a clear technical solution available.
What can be done
The solution is not censorship and not the elimination of anonymity. The solution is optional transparency — the ability for users to know when an account has been verified as belonging to a real person.
➡️ Discover how VerifySocial works in practice
➡️ European Citizens’ Initiative