Activists: Beware Fake Facebook Profiles
February 26th, 2013
The above screenshot of a fake Facebook persona comes from a ThinkProgress article citing efforts by a group of military contractors, working on behalf of the US Chamber of Commerce, to infiltrate left-leaning political organizations. This group called “Team Themis” also spied on reporters sympathetic to Wikileaks on behalf of Bank of America.
As an admin of many liberty-oriented Facebook pages and groups, I recently noticed a deluge of new requests to join them, primarily by newly-created accounts of females with particularly comely profile pictures. While some of these may be real people or bots aimed at selling some type of product, activists should remain aware of the fact that law enforcement agents, intelligence services, government bureaucrats, and private special interest groups sometimes create fake accounts in order to spy on political activists. When one considers the fact that combat veteran Brandon Raub was illegally detained for comments he made on Facebook, it’s important to keep an eye on newly added friends.
COINTELPRO All Over Again
The FBI infamously found itself on the wrong side of history during the civil rights movement. American hero Martin Luther King, Jr worked tirelessly to expand the rights of people of all colors and ethnic backgrounds. While he was doing this, the FBI was busy plotting to sully his name, at one point even sending him a letter urging him to commit suicide.
Agents of the state often look at political activists as troublesome rabble-rousers. Activists catch politicians in scandals and expose police corruption. These types of activities tend to put one at odds with a political power structure that relies on violence to maintain its legitimacy. In fact, the president recently signed HR 347, a bill that could make it a felony to protest within a certain radius of politicians under Secret Service protection, directly threatening activists’ freedom of speech.
Conflicts Between Citizens and Law Enforcement Officers
As conflicts between corrupt cops and citizen activists heat up, officials sometimes spy on their accusers in an attempt to build a case against them. Several different noteworthy Austin-area activists have been shown printouts of their Facebook activity by law enforcement agents with whom they’ve had conflicts.
Additionally, some federal agents will use fake profiles to make violent comments about the government on liberty-oriented profile pages, hoping that others will join in and call for violence. In general, admins should be wary of any new group members that begin trying to drum up a violent revolution against the government in comments. Chances are, this is an effort by a federal law enforcement or intelligence agency to build cases against group members.
For activists, social media is an extraordinarily powerful tool. However, it’s important to keep an eye on your friends list, as it may contain bot accounts designed primarily to spy on your every move.
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