Three false Twitter accounts which impersonated Wikileaks founder Julian Assange have spent months spreading far-right messaging, in a striking example of how easily fakes can drive online content. A fourth was created on September 4, and immediately began spreading more.

All four accounts — @JuliannAssange, @Julien_Assange, @RealAssange and @JulianAssanged — copied the profile of the genuine Assange (@JulianAssange), occasionally claiming to be a “parody” (or “parity”) account when they were exposed. Their content was not parody, however, but a cocktail of far-right propaganda which achieved the greatest impact when it linked itself with Wikileaks.

Some Twitter users appear to have been fooled by these accounts; others claimed not to have been, but supported their efforts anyway.

Three of the four accounts were created in May. By the time the last of them was suspended on September 4, while under investigation by @DFRLab, it had over 25,000 followers. Minutes after the suspension, a new account was created, using the same techniques.

These four accounts serve as a case study in the power of impersonation — and the worrying tendency of some internet users to spread stories even if they believe the sources to be false.

How the fakes were made

The three early accounts warranted studying to see how they operated, how they survived for so long, and how they gained such a following.

Their survival was based on three factors: the exact copying of the real Assange’s profile; the use of a plausible handle; and the temporary use, when threatened with exposure, of the claim that they were parody accounts (or “parity accounts”).

The genuine Assange’s profile page, from a screenshot on August 17. The salient features remained unchanged as of September 4.

All four fake accounts used the same visuals, including the blue diamond next to the name (this appears to be a reference to the blue check-mark which Twitter itself uses to mark verified accounts). The similarity is most marked in the latest incarnation, @JulianAssanged, as this screenshot demonstrates.

Screenshot of the @JulianAssanged profile page. Note the creation date on September 4. Archived on September 4. Other than the creation date and the number of followers, the profile is identical with the real account.

The earlier incarnations were almost perfect matches, but added the words “parity account” or “parody account” once they were accused of impersonation.

Screenshot of the @Julien_Assange profile page, showing the same visuals, taken on August 17. The words “parity account” were a recent addition; previously, the biographical text had been identical with that of the real Assange. Note that this account had over 14,000 followers.