Researchers uncover an American botnet supporting the Trump administration outside of the election cycle

The Bot Blocker Project (antibot4navalny) has studied a network of more than 1,360 fake X accounts that have spent the past ten months furthering the agenda of Donald Trump’s administration while also supporting former DOGE head Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

According to the study, the bots attack Trump’s critics, including Judge Juan Merchan (who presided over Trump’s case involving hush money payments),former Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney (of the Jan. 6 committee), ABC News, and journalist George Stephanopoulos. Also targeted were liberal Reps. Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who had criticized Musk for dismantling USAID.

The botnet has been active in key swing states. In Ohio, fake accounts spoke out against a bill on online gambling, possibly to help Republican Governor Mike DeWine, and praised Secretary of State Frank LaRose. Both politicians sit on the state’s redistricting commission, which has been involved in gerrymandering in favor of Republicans.

The network promoted key points of the Republican Party’s 2024 platform: the release of the Epstein files, lowering medicinal drug prices, strengthening borders, and deporting immigrants who have committed crimes. The bots also backed defunding Planned Parenthood as part of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Budget Bill.”