EPISODE · Nov 29, 2025 · 9 MIN
Special Edition: Social Media's "Fake Americans" Problem
from The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast · host The Pell Center at Salve Regina University
American social media is filled with high-strung posters, outrage-addicts, and partisan players. It's a perfect avenue for amplifying division and most platforms let anyone play anonymously. So it came as a shock to some this week when X turned on a new geolocation service and the overseas posting of active accounts--some with hundreds of thousands and even millions of followers--proved to originate from Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia. In this special edition of the podcast, host Jim Ludes takes us back to 2017, when Russia's use of fake personas on social media first became obvious.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What this episode covers
American social media is filled with high-strung posters, outrage-addicts, and partisan players. It's a perfect avenue for amplifying division and most platforms let anyone play. So it came as a shock to some this week when X turned on a new geolocation service and the overseas posting of active accounts--some with hundreds of thousands and even millions of followers--proved to originate from Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia. In this special edition of the podcast, host Jim Ludes takes us back to 2017, when Russia's use of fake personas on social media first became obvious.
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Special Edition: Social Media's "Fake Americans" Problem
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