California Democratic gubernatorial candidates Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer are facing accusations that they improperly paid social media influencers to boost their bids — but another front in the social media wars between the two over fake accounts is also underway, a report says.
There are more than 3,000 fake accounts across Instagram, X and Facebook supporting former Health and Human Services Secretary Becerra while attacking billionaire Steyer, according to an analysis by Cyabra, an AI disinformation security firm. It is used by clients such as NATO and the US State Department, Its website He said.
The analysis, shared with The Post, claims there is a “coordinated effort across platforms to amplify negative narratives and increase online visibility” — though it draws no conclusions about who may be controlling the accounts and why.
The activity of the alleged fake accounts resulted in more than 1 million views and about 42,000 shares, according to the report.
The report claimed that the accounts focused on pro-Becerra messages that attempted to create a perception of public support. Many focused on criticizing Steyer, such as his push against influencer Carlos Eduardo Espina.
One account, for example He shared an article on Breitbart about Steyer’s “extremely extreme” immigration platform. The account joined X on October 22, but is based in Austria.
However, Steyer’s post seemed surprising for the Australia-based account, which has mostly focused on publishing European news in German.
last account With no profile photo or cover photo, in response to a tweet about betting odds on the governor’s race, he said, “Steyer wants to buy the presidency. He’s tried and failed before.” It appears the April 2026 tweet was a mistake because the billionaire — who ran for president in 2020 — is now running for governor.
The account, which says it is based in D.C. and joined in December 2016, posts or reposts anti-Trump and pro-democracy content on a consistent basis.
Jonathan Underland, a spokesman for Becerra’s campaign, denied any suggestion he was profiting from fake social media accounts and pointed to rival Steyer’s lavish spending in the final weeks of the race.
“The Steyer campaign is spinning the boards to hide the cracks — creating as much chaos as possible before releasing their financial reports tonight and exposing their unethical scheme to buy this election,” Underlund said.
Ciabra noted that many of the reported accounts could be linked to a “coordinated political network.” The company looked at accounts’ activity for 2024, and at least 80% of them were active in discussions about the 2024 presidential election, particularly amplifying pro-democracy content and using the same messages and phrases, such as the “MAGA threat.”
The fact that such narratives have turned to commentary on a more local race focused on California and attacking one of the candidates is telling, said Jun Kawatake Atiko, a public relations expert who has studied digital manipulation.
Kwatakye-Atiko, who is not affiliated with Cyabra, told The Post that he has seen countless efforts by social media managers to move various accounts to smear a particular person or organization. He was initially skeptical of the analysis until he saw the trend from the national conversation to the conversation in California.
“Suppose you get on a plane and meet 20 other passengers on that plane, right? You’ve got a flight from Los Angeles to New York City. What is the probability that you’ll get on that plane again next year at exactly the same time, and that all 20 of those people will be sitting on the same plane again, right next to you as they were the last time?” He said. “This is practically impossible.”
Kevon Shroff, a media and culture commentator who worked on the digital team for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, told The Washington Post that many fake accounts typically have telling features, such as low follower counts, a recent creation date, or suspicious posting activity.
Shroff said many of the accounts reported in the report are likely fake.
However, he was skeptical of the format claims and noted that the supposed impact — a million views — didn’t mean much in this media environment.
Shroff said regarding these allegations: “I think this is an exaggeration. This may actually be true, but they have not proven it with what is in this report.”
“They haven’t identified where this came from, who was behind it, or anything like that, that would allow you to credibly say that this was a centralized, coordinated effort,” he added. Such evidence needed would be such as IP-level data or direct messages, he said.
Ciabra said she stands by her analysis.
“Cyabra identifies coordinated inauthentic behavior by the convergence of multiple signals across the same network of accounts. No single signal is conclusive in and of itself,” a company spokesperson told the newspaper. “We look for patterns like simultaneous posting, repetitive language and hashtags, overlapping sharing behavior, and signs of account health that consistently indicate coordination.”
The broader influence of social media on the gubernatorial election has sparked controversy with Steyer and Becerra accusing each other of inappropriate influence online.
Becerra’s team denied ever paying the creator for a post. Steyer’s team said it properly warned all influencers of the appropriate disclosure requirements.
Becerra is the incumbent Democratic nominee in the June 2 primary, while Steyer is trying to wrest the position from not far away.