Profiteers Exploit America’s Election Conspiracy and Hate to Make Millions

The messages, which may mislead US citizens or incite hatred against various groups, will have been seen by more people than those who bought them.

Those who use the network of Facebook pages in Nigeria may believe that US-oriented clickbait is the best way to increase the number of people who see their scams. In contrast, the ecommerce operations identified by TBIJ give the entire impression that they are proudly American.

But an analysis of their listed residential addresses and online presence suggests that businesses are at least operated in Vietnam, the Philippines, Pakistan, India, and Croatia (with Facebook page administrators based in those countries). None of the ecommerce sites identified by TBIJ provided a US address that could be linked to their business.

United Patriot, which says its “amazing collection of patriotic goods … is printed locally here in America,” says on its Facebook page and website that it is located at an address in Gardena, California. However, TBIJ could not find proof of that registered business at the address. The only commercial activity found at the address was a warehouse that provides wholesale shipping services to people based overseas, and two online stores suspected in Google reviews of being scams.

The Better Business Bureau, a nonprofit organization focused on “market trust,” told United Patriots in November 2022 that it must change or verify claims made on its website about items “printed in the US.”

One such site, Red First LLC, claims to be based in Carrollton, Texas, at the same address as the fake seller claiming to be reselling Ralph Lauren clothing. This does not necessarily mean that the companies are owned by one person, but it does suggest that the address may be used by fraudsters.

And all these activities do not strongly push right-wing messages. Red First LLC (which peddles less hate and misinformation than the other three companies) has created at least 5,000 ads over the past two years. Although it heavily promotes right-wing merchandise and content, such as t-shirts with slurs on Harris and signs suggesting the 2020 election was stolen, it also posts a small amount of pro-Harris content. Post-trade liability means that you are not against supporting the other side.

Meta Under Test

As efforts to influence public opinion and elections abound on social media, companies like Facebook owner Meta have come under scrutiny for their role in dealing with bad actors who try to sway public opinion on their platforms.

In 2021, Frances Haugen, a former employee of Facebook, blew the whistle on the company’s role in spreading new information and increasing racial hatred. Many studies have also shown that the algorithms of social networks, including Facebook, create greater opportunities to engage in offensive, offensive, and hateful content.

“The US election is an already tumultuous and divisive political event. If the goal of these fraudsters is to bring people in, then appealing directly to emotions to avoid media criticism is important,” said Joe Ondrak, who leads senior research and technology at the anti-mortem initiative Reasonable.

“It is possible that there are many potential victims and stories easily available for them to choose from. The way algorithms reward engagement means that misinformation, conspiracy theories, and hate speech are easy ways to get large audiences.”