WHAT ARE BAD ACTORS - the FIVE worst types.

Common Types of Bad Actors on Social Media

A "bad actor" in the context of social media (Reddit, X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snap, etc.) refers to an individual, group, or organization that intentionally exploits online platforms to spread harmful content, push misleading narratives, manipulate discourse, or deceive users for malicious purposes. These actors often operate ambiguously enough that they do not raise red flags or automated checks by the platforms themselves, even if/when they do violate platform rules, laws, or ethical norms.

Type	Description	Examples
Trolls	Deliberately provoke, harass, or spread chaos.	Anonymous accounts inciting fights in comment sections.
Bots	Automated accounts that amplify disinformation or spam.	"Fake" profiles boosting political propaganda.
State-Sponsored Actors	Governments or groups spreading propaganda or destabilizing narratives.	Russian IRA (Internet Research Agency) interfering in elections.
Hate Groups	Promote extremism, violence, or discrimination.	White supremacist networks organizing on encrypted platforms.
Disinformation Peddlers	Spread false narratives (political, health-related, etc.).	Anti-vaxxers pushing COVID-19 conspiracy theories.

How Bad Actors Operate

• Fake Accounts: Use stolen or AI-generated identities to appear legitimate.
• Algorithm Gaming: Exploit engagement tactics (outrage, clickbait) to boost reach.
• Coordinated Campaigns: Networks of accounts working together to trend hashtags/messages.
• Deepfakes & AI: Generate realistic but fake audio/video to mislead.

Why Platforms Struggle to Stop Them

• Scale: Millions of accounts make detection hard (e.g., X/Twitter purges ~1M bots/month).
• Adaptability: Bad actors constantly evolve tactics (e.g., switching to encrypted apps).
• Free Speech vs. Moderation: Platforms balance censorship concerns with safety.
• Self Interest: The volume of inauthentic accounts on many platforms is estimated to be anywhere between 25%-70%, if a platform was to accurately identify and remove all the inauthentic accounts it would be shooting itself in the foot by reducing it's advertising revenue capabilities and it's shareholder values based largely on user numbers and engagement.

The Worst of the Worst:

Third Party Engagement Services (aka professionals):

Third-party engagement services are specialized firms or platforms hired by non-profits, think tanks, special interest groups, political consultants, and operatives to amplify messaging, influence public opinion, and achieve strategic goals. These services operate as external allies, providing expertise in digital outreach, grassroots mobilization, media manipulation, and data-driven targeted information operation while allowing their clients to maintain anonymity.

Key Functions

• Appearing Organic:  these services use a mix of technical tactics, behavioral mimicry, and operational security. Most simply, they use real people in English speaking, low wage nations (Nigeria, Philippines, and India) to operate accounts on X, Reddit, and other platforms who appear to be totally authentic users at a glance. They are trained and operate through a third party organization that sets-up a posting schedules, what narratives to post and comment, provides content to post, etc...
• Digital Astroturfing: Creating artificial grassroots support (e.g., bot armies, paid trolls).
• Media Placement: Securing op-eds, "expert" interviews, or viral content via influencer networks.
• Data Harvesting & Micro-targeting: Using voter/consumer data to tailor disinformation or persuasion campaigns to specific people and groups.
• Crisis Management: Operating/Moderating specific channels, banning critics, burying opposition stories and comment, or coordinating and deploying counter-narratives, etc...

Who Uses these Services:

Anyone with the means and motives. Dark Money groups funnel hundreds of millions of dollars from anonymous wealthy "donors,"(billionaires, major corporations, industry groups, think tanks, non-profits, lobbyists, etc.) into unregulated spending on elections. A lot of that goes to hiring political operatives who work with third-party engagement services to influence American elections by spamming social media with narratives, misleading posts and comments, misinformation, propaganda, etc...

It's only getting worse:

• A.I.: not a surprise, but like everyone else, Bad Actors are embracing A.I. to automate accounts that appear authentic, slash their operating costs, and to SCALE enormously. 
• Tech Companies: are some of the biggest dark money and political donors in the nation. They do NOT want Federal or State governments to crack down on them or regulate them at all. Major players in Tech and Social Media benefit from bad actors, misinformation, and Culture War.

How Users Can Spot Bad Actors

• Check account history (new, low activity, or repost-only accounts).
• Look for sensationalist language, lack of sources, or extreme bias.
• Reverse-image-search profile pics (often stolen).

 

Better Yet: JUST DISENGAGE

You don't need to disconnect from Social Media, but you can disengage from Culture War, Hyper Partisan, Rage Bait, Sensationalism.

If you see a post with a rage-bait title and screenshot but NO context, NO sourcing, NO perspective... JUST KEEP SCROLLING. 

Do not feed the trolls. No not engage.