WASHINGTON — Social media played an integral role in the demonstrations, marches and occasional violence in Baltimore this week. But the majority of the posts stirring the pot have come from outsiders, not locals, one cyber security company claims.
“They’re not local actors,” says Christopher Cullison, chief technology officer for Zero Fox.
“We started watching a group in particular and seeing they were interconnected; they were retweeting each other; they were gaining followers pretty fast,” he says.
Cullison says the posers have fabricated online profiles and reuse dated photos to suggest uprisings are presently underway.
“You’re seeing things where outside elements are trying to make larger gatherings with bad intentions,” he says.
Monday’s outbreak at Mondawmin Mall was fueled through local posts, he says. But outsiders from as far away as Australia, Europe and the Middle East have seized on Baltimore’s unrest, according to Zero Fox.
“A lot of the spreading of propaganda … has come from across the country,” Cullison says. “What you see from your traditional users in the city itself is an isolated subset.”
Zero Fox says it’s in contact with the Baltimore police to help the department sift real threats from phony posts.
