Macedonian AI-powered fake news sites fuel US patriotism misinformation
Fake news operations based in North Macedonia have expanded their use of AI to create false patriotic content targeting US audiences, with Facebook pages collectively gaining millions of followers before Meta removed them for misrepresenting their location.
What happened
Eight years after the discovery of fake news supporting Donald Trump generated from Veles in North Macedonia, these operations remain active and have expanded to use artificial intelligence. A Forbes study published on 26 August 2024 identified 67 Facebook pages creating false content about American culture and identity, predominantly originating from North Macedonia with 4.7 million followers combined.
The pages used deceptive names such as 'Proud American', 'Proud to be American', 'American Story', and 'We are America' while being operated from outside the United States. Operators used AI to create posts about patriotic themes, soldier tributes, retweets, memes, and pin-up images linked to AI-generated articles to drive engagement for ad revenue.
Reported impact
By 20 August, the 67 identified pages had more than 9 million followers combined—exceeding the Facebook followings of Wall Street Journal or Washington Post. The operations were designed to manipulate American public opinion using patriotic content as cover for commercial misinformation campaigns.
Index analysis
Thirty-three of the fake pages operated from North Macedonia, with the remainder distributed across 23 other countries including Canada, France, Morocco, Venezuela, and Vietnam. The use of AI in generating content and engagement appears to be making these operations more attractive and scalable for operators in countries outside the United States.
Governance controls
Meta removed all 67 identified pages for violating its authenticity rules by misrepresenting their location, according to Meta spokesperson Margarita Franklin. Meta stated the pages had been active for only about a week before removal and clarified that operating a page in one location for a different country is not inherently a violation, but pages that cross the line by deceiving people about their origin are removed.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.