The messages, which potentially mislead American citizens or stoke hatred toward various groups, will have been seen by many more people than actually made a purchase.
Those who run the network of Facebook pages in Nigeria may simply believe that US-focused clickbait is the best way to increase the number of people who see their scams. By contrast, the e-commerce operations identified by TBIJ give the impression of being proudly American.
However, analysis of the listed physical addresses and their online presence suggests that the companies are run, at least in part, from Vietnam, the Philippines, Pakistan, India and Croatia (with Facebook page administrators based in those countries). None of the e-commerce sites identified by TBIJ provided a US address that could be linked to their business.
United Patriot, which says its “patriotic collection of amazing apparel… are all printed locally here in America,” claims on its Facebook page and website to be located at an address in Gardena, California. However, TBIJ could not find evidence that this business was registered at the address. The only other commercial activity found at the address was a warehouse that provides wholesale shipping services for people based abroad, as well as two online stores that have been accused 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 should change or substantiate claims made on its website about items “printed in the United States.”
Another similar site, Red First LLC, says it is based in Carrollton, Texas, at the same address as a fraudulent merchant claiming to resell Ralph Lauren clothing. This does not necessarily mean that the companies are owned by the same person, but it suggests that the address may have been used by scammers.
All of these operations do not strictly promote right-wing messages either. Red First LLC (which traffics far less in hate and misinformation than the other three companies) has created at least 5,000 ads in the last two years. While it primarily promotes right-wing products and content, such as t-shirts with misogynistic slurs toward Harris and posters suggesting the 2020 election was stolen, in a small number of cases it has also posted pro-Harris content. The commercial imperative behind the operation means he is not averse to backing the other side.
Goal under scrutiny
As attempts to influence public opinion and elections have increased on social media, companies like Meta, which owns Facebook, have come under scrutiny for the role they play in harboring bad actors trying to polarize public opinion. on their platforms.
In 2021, Frances Haugen, a former Facebook employee, denounced the company’s role in spreading misinformation and increasing racial hatred. Numerous studies have also shown that the algorithms of social media platforms, including Facebook, create greater engagement opportunities for far-right, conspiracy, and hate content.
“The US election is an already tense and divisive political event. If the goal of these scammers is to attract people, then the key is to appeal directly to emotions to avoid media criticism,” says Joe Ondrak, senior research and technology leader at the anti-disinformation startup Logically.
“There is likely a large pool of potential victims and easily exploitable narratives for them to choose from. The way algorithms reward participation means that misinformation, conspiracy theory and hate speech are easy ways to find a wide audience.”