A recent study conducted by Ruhr University Bochum in Germany, GESIS Leibniz Institute, and CISPA Helmholtz Center has revealed that accounts on X (formerly Twitter) using AI-generated avatars make up only 0.052% of all accounts. Researchers analyzed nearly 15 million X accounts and found that 7,723 of them used AI-generated avatars.
Image source: The image was generated by AI, provided by Midjourney, an image licensing service.
These accounts exhibit distinct characteristics: they have fewer followers, follow fewer accounts, and more than half were created in 2023, with some even being mass-created within hours. The lead author of the study, Jonas Ricker, pointed out that this clearly indicates that these accounts are not genuine users. After nine months of observation, the X platform has shut down more than half of these accounts.
During a manual content analysis of 1,000 accounts using AI avatars, researchers found that the content themes of these accounts were mainly focused on politics, particularly topics related to Trump, COVID-19 vaccines, and the Ukraine war. Additionally, lottery and financial topics (such as cryptocurrencies) frequently appeared. Researchers speculate that these accounts might have been created specifically to spread misinformation and political propaganda, as the mass creation of accounts with identical metadata suggests they could belong to an organized network.
Although this study did not explore the reach of these AI avatar-using accounts, their characteristic of having fewer followers and following fewer accounts indicates limited influence. This aligns with a study by OpenAI, which found that social media accounts spreading AI-generated political propaganda information received little response, thus making these accounts less effective. The research team plans to expand the automation of AI fake avatar detection in future analyses and incorporate updated models to better understand the impact of this technology on social media platforms.
Key Points:
📊 Research shows that only 0.052% of accounts on the X platform use AI-generated avatars, mostly newly created accounts.
🗳️ Accounts using AI avatars primarily focus on political, COVID-19, and financial topics.
🔍 The mass creation and similar metadata of these accounts suggest the possibility of an organized network spreading misinformation.