Fake social media accounts are mysteriously boosting Becerra’s campaign, report claims

Democratic California gubernatorial candidates Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer are both under accusations they improperly paid social media influencers to boost their bids — but another front in the social media wars between the two around fake accounts is also underway, a report claims.

More than 3,000 fake accounts across Instagram, X and Facebook are boosting former Health and Human Services secretary Becerra while attacking billionaire Steyer, according to an analysis by Cyabra, an AI-powered disinformation security company. It’s used by clients like NATO and the US Department of State, its website said.

The analysis, which was shared with The Post, alleges a “coordinated cross-platform effort to amplify negative narratives and increase online visibility” — though it notably doesn’t draw any conclusions about who may be controlling the accounts and why.

The alleged fake accounts’ activity drove more than a million views and around 42,000 engagements, per the report.

The accounts focused on pro-Becerra messaging that tried to create a perception of grassroots support, the report alleged. Many focused on criticizing Steyer, such as his payment to influencer Carlos Eduardo Espina.

One account, for instance, shared a Breitbart article on Steyer’s “extremely radical” immigration platform. The account joined X October 22, but is based in Austria.

The Steyer post seemed out of the blue for the Austraia-based account, however, as it mostly has focused on posting on European news in German language.

Another account with no profile picture or cover image claimed, in response to a tweet on the governor’s race’s betting odds, that “Steyer wants to buy the Presidency. He tried & failed before.” That April 2026 tweet seemed to be an error as the billionaire — who did run for president in 2020 — is now running for the governorship.

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The account, which says it’s based in D.C. and joined December 2016, has been posting or reposting anti-Trump and pro-Democratic content on a consistent basis.

Jonathan Underland, a Becerra campaign spokesperson, dismissed any suggestion that he was benefiting from fake social media accounts and pointed at rival Steyer’s heavy spending in the final weeks of the race.

“Steyer’s campaign is spinning plates to hide the cracks — creating as much chaos as possible before their finance reports publish tonight and their unethical scheme to buy this election is exposed,” Underland said.

Cyabra suggested many of the flagged accounts could be tied to a “coordinated political network.” The company looked at the accounts’ 2024 activities, and at least 80% of them were active in discussions around the 2024 presidential election, particularly amplifying pro-Democratic content and using the same messaging and phrases, such as “MAGA threat.”

The fact such similar accounts all shifted to commenting on a more local, California-focused race attacking one candidate is telling, said John Kwatakye-Atiko, a PR expert who has studied digital manipulation.

Kwatakye-Atiko, who isn’t affiliated with Cyabra, told The Post that he’s seen countless efforts by social media managers moving different accounts to smear a certain person or organization. He was initially skeptical of the analysis until he saw the trend from national to California conversation.

“Let’s say you get on a plane and you meet 20 other passengers on that plane, right? You got the flight from LA to New York City. What’s the possibility that next year at the exact same time you get on that plane again, all those 20 people on that same plane again, sitting right next to you the way they were last time?” he said. “That’s virtually impossible.”

Kaivon Shroff, a media and culture commentator who worked on the digital team for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, told The Post that many fake accounts typically have telling features, such as low follower count, recent creation date, or suspicious posting activity.

Many of the accounts flagged in the report are likely fake, Shroff said.

However, he was suspicious of the coordination claims and noted the supposed impact — a million views — don’t mean much in this media environment.

“I do think that is a stretch. It may be true in fact, but they haven’t proven it with what’s in this report,” Shroff said on the claims.

“They haven’t identified the source of this, who’s behind it, anything like that, that would allow you to credibly say this was a centralized, coordinated effort,” he added. Such evidence needed would be something like IP-level data or direct messages, he said.

Cyabra said it stood by its analysis.

“Cyabra identifies coordinated inauthentic behavior through the convergence of multiple signals across the same network of accounts. No single signal is definitive on its own,” a company spokesperson told the Post. “We look for patterns such as synchronized posting, repeated language and hashtags, overlapping engagement behavior, and account authenticity markers that consistently point to coordination.”

The broader influence of social media on the gubernatorial election has generated controversy as Steyer and Becerra accuse each other of improper online influence.

The Becerra team has denied it ever made payments to a creator in exchange for a post. Steyer’s team said it has but properly warned all influencers of proper disclosure requirements.

Becerra is the current Democratic frontrunner in the June 2 primary, while Steyer is trying to wrest that position from not too far behind.