No, Trump's sister did not publicly back him. He was duped by a fake account. [View all]

[marble falls]

No, Trump’s sister did not publicly back him. He was duped by a fake account.

Nov. 20, 2020, 4:54 p.m. ET1 hour ago
1 hour ago

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/20/technology/no-trumps-sister-did-not-publicly-back-him-he-was-duped-by-a-fake-account.html

By Jack Nicas



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“This election inspired me to break my silence and speak out on behalf of my family,” the account said in a post on Wednesday. “My brother Don won this election and will fight this to the very end. We’ve always been a family of fighters.”

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Had the article’s author looked more closely, though, she would have noticed some suspicious details about the account. It was a day old. The photos it used of Ms. Trump Grau were taken from Getty Images and past news articles about her. And since that first post, the account had tweeted increasingly bizarre messages, sharply criticizing Democrats, journalists and Republicans who had questioned the false claim that Mr. Trump was re-elected.

“If someone pours gravy down Chris Wallace’s pants at Thanksgiving dinner, I promise, I will take care of the legal fees!” the account said, referring to the Fox News anchor. Another post said, “The perfect Trump drink on a rough day,” with a photo of a can of Natty Daddy, a cheap malt beer.

The bizarre episode illustrates how easily misinformation spreads online, often with the help of the president himself. Right-wing websites that seek to support the president’s baseless claims, or simply attract clicks so they can sell more ads, often eschew the traditional principles of journalism, such as simple fact-checking. And the social media companies aid the cycle by making it simple to share misinformation, including allowing the use of fake accounts, and by training their algorithms to promote material that attracts more attention, as sensational and divisive posts often do.

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