Fatima Muhammad Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Fake Twitter accounts are becoming a rising phenomenon, with the majority of them being created to influence public opinion, generate profit or defame famous figures, according to social media experts. Up to 100,000 fake accounts can be created in five days. Ammar Muhammad, a specialist in social media and a founding member of “Taghreedat” (tweets) to enhance the Arabic language presence on Twitter, believes that there is a difference between fake accounts and people who use nicknames. He said that it is at first hard to differentiate between the two. However, some characteristics can make it easy to differentiate between the two, as the accounts with nicknames would normally express emotions and feelings, address social issues and tend to provide a profile picture that is relevant to their state of mind. They also tend to use nicknames that associate them with a region, a surname or any other nicknames that represent them. Ammar added that some fake accounts use the names of popular people and tend to present real content including pictures and videos. The challenge here is that Twitter still does not have a clear-cut legal system to prevent such practices, he said. So popular figures used in these fake accounts tend to complain officially to Twitter, which blocks the account, but soon another fake account appears. The number of Twitter users has exceeded 500 million, while 27 percent of followers of the top 10 Twitter accounts are reportedly fake. Fake followers, he said, are categorized as those using the same content and re-tweeting it, and most often the timing of tweets is the same. Users of fake accounts tend to focus on one subject and address it excessively, said Ammar. Fake accounts, he added, can influence public opinion through the creation hashtags and contributing heavily to them. This, said Ammar, can turn a local issue into an international issue, encouraging even traditional media to use that content as news. However, reporters, he said, need to contact real Twitter users to take their words directly and give them space to express their views. Some accounts, he said, are devoted to humiliating different religions and they do so to increase the number of their followers. As soon as they achieve that, they shift their interest. Some public figures, he said, have their accounts managed by other people, such as television presenters. Such practices can go under the umbrella of fake management of accounts. While some accounts are managed by humans, Ammar explained that other accounts are managed automatically by robots while some are managed by both. The danger of fake accounts, he explained, is that they might highlight an issue and turn it into a social issue in one country. Fake accounts can also harm the reputation of public figures. Interacting through direct messages with an account that uses nicknames and providing information can end up in this data being exposed and used for other purposes. It can also expose children to inappropriate content, said Ammar. He added that the primary cause behind such accounts is to gain more money and donations through advertising. Ammar referred to statistics that state that up to 100,000 fake accounts can be created worldwide. However, no regional statistics can be provided about the Kingdom and GCC region. To combat this phenomenon, Ammar said that Twitter should be stricter by asking for specific personal information including phone numbers. Some of these fake accounts tend to provide security information that tends to be accurate hours later. This indicates that they are member of organized groups that work on influencing public opinion in their favor. Such accounts become more recognized and admired as long as they provide evidence including pictures and videos, said Ammar. Faisal Al-Rifai, a social media student, warned about the use of fake accounts, adding that those creating them tend to normally lack knowledge and do not understand the danger of their practices. He called for more protection measures to curb the hazards of fake accounts. He urged online users not to provide confidential information to any fake account users. According to a study in Bahrain, college students have different concerns about social networks including fears that their information may be made public, the sites are a waste of time or they may be conned or put in danger from other users. In the same study, students said these networks had several drawbacks including inappropriate content being posted such as rumors, often leading to people being isolated from society.
