Network of Allegedly Fake Facebook Profiles with Purportedly AI-Generated Images Amplified Posts by Bulgaria's 'There Is Such a People' (ITN) Party

A network of allegedly fake Facebook profiles using purportedly AI-generated profile images reportedly coordinated the spread of posts by members of Bulgaria's political party "There Is Such a People" (ITN) during the pre-election period. Reporting said the accounts repeatedly shared posts by ITN politician Pavela Mitova and ITN's leader Slavi Trifonov, helping make them appear highly engaging on Facebook and increasing their visibility.

Risk classification

• Primary risk domain: 4 Malicious actors
• Primary risk subdomain: 4.1 Disinformation, surveillance, and influence at scale

The incident involves a coordinated network of fake profiles using AI-generated images to conduct a political influence campaign aimed at manipulating public opinion and the democratic process.

Additional risk subdomains

• 3.1 False or misleading information: The fake profiles were used to amplify specific false or misleading political claims, such as corruption allegations against a minister.

Causal factors

• Entity: Human
• Intent: Intentional
• Timing: Post-deployment

The campaign was intentionally organized and executed by human actors using deployed AI image generation tools to create fake profiles.

EU AI Act risk tier

• Risk tier: 3 Limited Risk

Limited Risk: The report describes the use of AI-generated content (deepfakes/synthetic profile images), which falls under transparency obligations to ensure users are aware they are interacting with or viewing AI-generated content.

AI system and alleged parties

• AI system: unspecified
• AI purpose: Deepfake Image Generation; Image Verification
• Behaviour type: Tool
• Alleged developer: Unknown image generator developers, Unknown generative AI developers, Unknown deepfake technology developers
• Alleged deployer: Shte Ima Takuv Narod (Aneliya Yordanova) (Facebook profile), Nikola Savov (Facebook profile), Magdalena Kostova (Facebook profile)
• Alleged harmed parties: Kelly Gale, Ivan Tomanovich, Ivan Hristanov, General public of Bulgaria, General public, Epistemic integrity, Electoral integrity, Bulgarian voters, Bulgarian Facebook users

Harm severity

Severity ratings are based on this scale.

Highest direct severity in any category: Minor. Severity is scored from Negligible to Catastrophic in each harm category, for harm the reports describe as caused directly or indirectly by the AI system.

• Physical: direct Negligible, indirect Negligible
• Infrastructure: direct Negligible, indirect Negligible
• Property: direct Negligible, indirect Negligible
• Financial: direct Negligible, indirect Negligible
• Environmental: direct Negligible, indirect Negligible
• Malicious content: direct Minor, indirect Minor
• Differential treatment: direct Negligible, indirect Negligible
• Civil rights: direct Negligible, indirect Negligible
• Democracy: direct Minor, indirect Minor
• Privacy: direct Negligible, indirect Minor
• Psychological: direct Negligible, indirect Negligible
• Epistemic: direct Minor, indirect Minor
• Child sexual exploitation and abuse: direct Negligible, indirect Negligible

Malicious content

Reported: The report explicitly describes political attacks and defamatory content spread directly and indirectly by the fake network.

Directly caused: The AI-generated images directly enabled the creation of over 120 highly authentic-looking fake profiles to bypass detection and spread political attacks.

Indirectly caused: The network amplified political attacks against ministers like Ivan Hristanov, accusing them of corruption.

Inferred additional harm: It is likely that other political figures were also targeted by this network, spreading further toxic political discourse.

Democracy

Reported: The report explicitly describes the coordinated manipulation of public opinion and democratic processes during an election campaign.

Directly caused: The use of AI-generated profiles manipulated Facebook's algorithms to artificially boost the reach of political propaganda.

Indirectly caused: The campaign potentially distorted democratic elections and public debate in Bulgaria by making coordinated propaganda appear as organic public sentiment.

Inferred additional harm: Such campaigns likely erode trust in democratic institutions and the integrity of the electoral process among the broader Bulgarian public.

Privacy

Reported: The report explicitly describes privacy violations where real individuals' photos were misappropriated for fake profiles.

Indirectly caused: The identity and likeness of a real researcher and a model were misappropriated to front fake political accounts.

Inferred additional harm: Other real individuals may have had their photos harvested and used without consent to populate this or similar bot networks.

Epistemic

Reported: The report explicitly describes epistemic harm through the spread of false allegations and the creation of fake personas.

Directly caused: The creation of fake identities using AI-generated faces deceived users into believing they were interacting with real citizens.

Indirectly caused: The network amplified unverified or false corruption allegations against political opponents, polluting the information ecosystem.

Inferred additional harm: The widespread use of synthetic profiles makes it harder for voters to distinguish between authentic public sentiment and coordinated propaganda.

People affected

• Occurrences reported: 1
• People reportedly harmed: 2
• People reportedly exposed: 5700

Potential causes

Management

• Inadequate Meta Moderation: Meta failed to proactively block coordinated inauthentic networks.
• No Proactive AI Detection: Platform failed to integrate AI detection tools like AIorNOT.

Technology

• AI-generated Profile Pictures: Fake profiles used AI-generated photos to look real.
• AI-generated Text Descriptions: Russian descriptions suggest AI was used to write bios.
• Algorithmic Recommendation Bias: Facebook algorithm prioritized posts with high fake engagement.

Data Inputs

• Lack of Image Verification Data: No training data or checks to flag AI-synthesized faces.
• Stolen Identity Data: Photos of real people were stolen to create deceptive accounts.

Human Factors

• Hybrid Manual-Automated Control: Operators manually accepted friend requests to mimic real users.
• Voter Deception: Bulgarian citizens were misled by fake AI-backed political posts.

Process and Methods

• Coordinated Sharing Campaigns: Networks of fake profiles coordinated to share specific ITN posts.
• Purchased Social Reactions: Buying reactions from foreign accounts to artificially boost reach.

Regulatory Environment

• Political Advertising Bans: Bans on political ads forced reliance on organic reach manipulation.
• Inadequate DSA Enforcement: EU Digital Services Act mandates are not fully stopping fake networks.

Information quality

• Classification confidence: High
• Reason for confidence: The report from Factcheck.bg is highly detailed, providing specific numbers of fake profiles (120 and 50), naming the targeted politicians, and detailing the verification methods (AIorNOT, PimEyes) used to confirm the AI-generated nature of the profile pictures. The facts are clear and consistent.
• Ambiguities identified: The specific AI image generation model used to create the fake profile pictures is not identified.
• Alternative interpretations: None. The coordinated inauthentic behavior and use of synthetic media are clearly documented.

A network of approximately 120 fake Facebook profiles in Bulgaria used AI-generated profile pictures to conduct a coordinated inauthentic behavior campaign, artificially amplifying content for a political party. While representing an established information operations tactic with minor national security impact, it highlights the ongoing use of synthetic media to target democratic discourse.

• Overall national security impact: Minor
• Scope: Single nation
• Primary target: Bulgaria
• Alleged perpetrator: Unknown

Threat characteristics

• Imminence: Long-term. The incident represents an ongoing strategic concern regarding the use of synthetic media in political campaigns rather than an active crisis.
• Autonomy: Human-controlled. The AI systems were used as static tools to generate profile images on demand, with humans managing the creation and execution of the fake network.
• Novelty: Established threat. The use of AI-generated faces for social media sockpuppets is a well-documented and established tactic in coordinated inauthentic behavior.

Impact by dimension

• Physical security: Negligible. No physical threat to infrastructure or human safety was reported in connection with this incident.
• Information security: Minor. The use of AI-generated profile images in a coordinated inauthentic behavior campaign represents a minor information operations threat aimed at manipulating social media algorithms.
• Sovereignty: Minor. The campaign targeted democratic discourse during a pre-election period in Bulgaria, representing a minor, localized attempt to influence political processes.
• Economic security: Negligible. No economic or technological security threats, such as financial system attacks or strategic technology theft, were reported.
• Societal stability: Negligible. The incident did not present significant threats to societal stability, civil liberties, or population safety.