Messages that may mislead US citizens or incite hatred towards various social groups will be seen by many times more people than actually make a purchase.
Those running a network of Facebook pages in Nigeria may simply believe that US-centric clickbait is the best way to raise the number of people who see their scams. By contrast, the e-commerce operations identified by TBIJ give the impression that they are proud of America.
However, an analysis of their physical addresses and online presence suggests that the companies are at least partially operated from Vietnam, the Philippines, Pakistan, India and Croatia (Facebook page administrators are based in these countries). None of the e-commerce sites identified by TBIJ provided a U.S. address that could be associated with their business.
United Patriot, which says its “patriotic collection of amazing apparel… is printed locally right here in America,” says on its website and Facebook page that it is based in Gardena, California. However, TBIJ could not find proof of registration of this company at this address. The only other commercial activity detected at this address was a warehouse that handled wholesale shipments to people overseas, as well as two online stores that were accused of fraud in Google reviews.
The Better Business Bureau, a nonprofit organization focused on “marketplace trust,” told United Patriots in November 2022 that it should change or substantiate claims on its website about “printed in the USA” items.
Another such site, Red First LLC, claims to be located in Carrollton, Texas, at the same address as a phony seller claiming to resell Ralph Lauren clothing. This does not necessarily mean that the companies are owned by the same person, but it does suggest that the address may have been used by fraudsters.
All these activities are not strictly aimed at pushing right-wing messages. Red First LLC (which traffics in much less hate and disinformation than the other three companies) has created at least 5,000 ads over the past two years. While it primarily promotes right-wing merchandise and content, such as T-shirts with misogynistic slurs against Harris and slogans suggesting the 2020 election was stolen, it also posts pro-Harris content on a miniature number of occasions. The commercial imperative behind this operation means that it has no objection to supporting the other side.
The finish line is under control
As attempts to influence public opinion and elections on social media intensify, companies like Facebook owner Meta have come under scrutiny for the role they play in hosting bad actors trying to polarize public opinion on their platforms.
In 2021, Frances Haugen, a former Facebook employee, exposed the company’s role in spreading disinformation and increasing racial hatred. Numerous studies have also shown that the algorithms of social media platforms, including Facebook, create greater opportunities for engagement with far-right, conspiratorial and hateful content.
“The US election is already a tense and divisive political event. If these scammers’ goal is to attract people, it’s crucial to appeal directly to emotion to circumvent media criticality, says Joe Ondrak, senior research and technology manager at counter-disinformation startup Logically.
“There is probably a immense pool of potential victims and narratives that could be easily exploited. The way algorithms reward engagement means that disinformation, conspiracy theories and hate speech are straightforward ways to find a wide audience.”