Deceptive “bait-and-switch” Facebook groups hook US voters: Study

WASHINGTON: Dozens of Facebook groups bill themselves as Kamala Harris fan pages but are fueling racist attacks, criticizing her record on immigration and promoting her rival Donald Trump in what disinformation researchers call a “bait-and-switch” tactic. aimed at deceiving voters in a close US election campaign.

The Washington-based US Sunlight Project analyzed over 300 groups on the Meta-owned platform that pose as pro-Harris sites while misleading the Democratic candidate’s supporters with abusive, hateful posts or exploiting 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, which makes them more likely to believe what is being shared there, whether it’s election disinformation, miracle cures or memes,” Nina Jankowicz, ASP co-founder and CEO, told AFP.

The “bit-and-switch” tactic appears to target actors across the political spectrum, including Trump.

But Jankowicz, the former disinformation chief for the Department of Homeland Security, 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 her as a “trailblazer, a symbol of diversity and a champion of justice and equality”.

But inside the group, posts seek to undermine Harris, including one with a photo of a brown woman smearing her face with black paint alongside the caption: “Kamala gets ready to talk to black people.”

The post repeated Trump’s false claim that Harris “became black” and that she was exploiting her race to woo African-American voters.

Harris is the first black, South Asian, and female vice president in American history.