Spreading false information on social platforms to damage the reputation of others, attackers may use a variety of techniques and strategies. The following are the common ones.： --- ### **1. Fake accounts and bot networks** -**Technical means**: Create a large number of fake accounts or automated robots, simulate real user behavior (such as likes, retweets, and comments), and spread false information in a short period of time. -**Purpose**: To create the illusion of ”majority support" and enhance the visibility and credibility of false content. --- ### **2. Deepfake (Deepfake)** -**Technical means**: Use AI to generate forged pictures, videos, or audio, imitate the target's image or voice, and fabricate his unpublished remarks or behaviors. -**Example**: Falsifying a video of a public figure making racist remarks, causing public opinion attacks. --- ### **3. Social engineering and Information tampering** -**Technical means**： -**Phishing attacks**: Steal the private information (such as emails and chat records) of the target or associated personnel, take it out of context and make it public. -**Context stripping**: Intercept fragments of real information, tamper with the background or add false descriptions (such as faking chat screenshots). -**Purpose**: Use some details of real information to enhance the credibility of false content. --- ### **4. Algorithm abuse** -**Technical means**: Use the preferences of social platform recommendation algorithms (such as inflammatory and controversial content) to design exaggerated titles or content to induce user interaction (click, share). -**Example**: Fabricate an explosive title of “A celebrity involved in a scandal” and spread it quickly through algorithms. --- ### **5. Navy and brush volume** -**Technical means**: Hire online navy forces to centrally forward, comment or like, and push false information to hot searches or hot topics. -**Purpose**: Use the platform's popularity mechanism to expand the coverage of false information. --- ### **6. Hot event bundling** -**Technical means**: In public emergencies (such as disasters, epidemics), insert false information unrelated to the event, and use public anxiety to accelerate the spread. -**Example**: Spreading rumors of “a certain official embezzling donations" under the disaster relief news. --- ### **7. Cross-platform collaborative attack** -**Technical means**: Publish false information simultaneously on multiple platforms (such as Twitter, Facebook, WeChat), and use content capture between platforms or cross-dissemination by users. -**Purpose**: To increase the difficulty of information traceability and platform supervision. --- ### **8. Hashtag Hijacking** -**Technical means**: Publish irrelevant false content under popular hashtags and take advantage of the opportunity to spread it. -**Example**: Distribute forged evidence of “a company pollutes the environment” under the hashtag #Environmental Protection Initiative. --- ### **9. Posing as an authority or opinion leader** -**Technical means**： -**Account counterfeiting**: Falsifying the accounts of government agencies, media, or celebrities to issue false statements. -**Buying the big V**: Seduce real opinion leaders to forward false information through interests. -**Purpose**: Use authoritative endorsements or fan trust to enhance persuasion. --- ### **10. Psychological manipulation technology** -**Technical means**： - **Emotional incitement**: Create content that causes anger and fear, prompting users to forward irrationally. -**Confirmation bias utilization**: Fabricating information (such as political rumors) based on existing prejudices of specific groups. -**Example**: Spreading false stories about “target people blaspheming their beliefs” against a religious group. --- ###**Defense suggestion** 1. **Improve awareness of information verification**: Verify sources and cross-compare multiple reliable sources. 2. **Assisted by technical tools**: Use AI detection tools to identify deeply forged content. 3. **Platform supervision**: Report fake accounts, abusive tags, and suspicious content. 4. **Legal means**: Retain evidence and pursue liability for libel through legal means. Attackers often combine a variety of technologies to enhance the influence of false information, so they need to defend from multiple levels of technology, education, and law.