Volkswacht Bodensee - Phony AI content stealing fan attention during baseball playoffs

With names like "Dodgers Dynasty" and "Yankee Nation," the pages mimic genuine fan accounts, but link to websites that are full of ads and phony AI-generated articles meant to draw clicks -- and payouts for the site creators.

"The goal of pages and operations like this is to earn money, and so whatever is going to work in terms of messaging, in terms of content, in terms of tactics they will do," journalist Craig Silverman, who has investigated similar clickbait, told AFP.

Experts warn that this strategy of pulling in users, sometimes with innocuous content, can be used to grow accounts that are later sold or rented to more nefarious disinformation campaigns.

Lies meant to elicit rage -- such as false claims US President Donald Trump plans to jack up prices for games featuring Major League Baseball's sole Canadian team, the Toronto Blue Jays -- have long been used to attract social media engagement.

But seemingly innocent posts are also drawing thousands of likes.

One features an AI image of Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani surrounded by puppies, lauding him for purportedly building a $5 million dog sanctuary.

Another post praises the Japanese standout for tipping a struggling waitress hundreds on a $60 check, an act of unverified generosity that was also ascribed to New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran.

"Scammers are learning to be better storytellers," said Luke Arrigoni, founder of Loti, an AI tool used to protect the reputations of public figures.

He said AI is allowing those creating false narratives to more easily make posts that appear genuine.

- Under investigation -

AFP presented Meta with a list of 32 Facebook pages pushing baseball-linked phony AI content and asked if the falsehoods run afoul of platform rules. The pages had attracted a combined 248,000 followers.

A Meta spokesperson said: "We are investigating the pages and admins in question and will take action against any that violate our policies."

Page transparency data shows the accounts are managed from Southeast Asia -- mostly Vietnam -- despite listing US phone numbers and addresses.

The numbers reached entities unaffiliated with the pages, including a motel and a California physician's office. AFP also matched the addresses to a salon and restaurant.

The Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which studies disinformation, previously found clickbait networks were "generating substantial revenue for the people behind them, relative to average incomes in Vietnam."

- Lack of labels -

While the Major League Baseball playoffs boosted engagement with these pages, the network also targets fans of American football, ice hockey and basketball.

An individual page or claim on its own may not appear concerning. But Silverman, who focuses on digital deception for Indicator, a site he co-founded, said AI is enabling groups to scale rapidly.

More divisive content, including false quotes attributed to athletes on LGBTQ issues or the assassination of US conservative activist Charlie Kirk, have also gained traction.

And AFP found these tactics are not limited to English-language content.

As part of Meta's fact-checking program, AFP has debunked falsehoods on pages targeting tennis fans in Serbian and Formula One supporters of Max Verstappen in Dutch.

In the United States, Meta replaced fact-checking labels with a Community Notes program intended to allow users to flag false content.

AFP examined hundreds of claims published since the start of the baseball playoffs and did not find any carrying visible notes -- even as some users posted page reviews warning about fake content.

"They're building a bigger and bigger foothold," Silverman said of the phony accounts, warning that without moderation the networks will only continue to grow.

M.Schneider--VB