Foreign Trolls Fuel UK Hate with AI 'Slop'

Vast networks of fake social media accounts, disguised as patriotic voices, are spreading AI-generated misinformation, or 'slop,' across platforms like X, YouTube, and Instagram. These operations, often originating from countries like Sri Lanka, Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia, are designed to whip up racist and anti-immigrant sentiment for profit through online advertising revenues. This 'slop' touches a nerve in increasingly fragile societies, with fabricated content even impersonating victims of conflict or political figures.

X has introduced a new feature displaying the country of origin for every account, a move hailed as a significant step towards transparency. This has already revealed that many accounts supporting political movements in the US and UK are not based domestically. Similar revelations have surfaced regarding accounts sharing content about the Gaza war and other sensitive topics, with their origins traced to distant nations.

The platform's owner, Elon Musk, has himself inadvertently promoted some of these fake accounts. While some operations are politically motivated, many influencers are primarily driven by financial gain. The recent introduction of this transparency measure by X is seen as a crucial development in combating the deluge of dangerous and misleading content, with expectations that other social media companies will adopt similar policies.