The creation of fake profiles on social media to attack public figures is a long-standing malpractice. A few years ago, over a hundred users across different social networks attacked and discredited an actress for five years, to the point that several brands stopped working with her. OnBranding determined that the accounts were fake: they were all managed from the same IP address, located in Panama. “Someone had become obsessed with a character she had played,” explains Selva Orejón, founder of the company.

The latest example occurred with the creation of a fake Twitter profile, a fake journalist named Joana Masdeu, who attempted to defend a member of the Catalan Parliament, Francesc de Dalmases, following the scandal regarding his behavior toward a TV3 journalist.

In the interview granted to the Catalan newspaper ARA.CAT, Selva Orejón explains what astroturfing is and how campaigns are organized to attack politicians, journalists, actors, and companies, thereby manipulating public debate.

You can read the full interview at ARA.CAT

Or you can read it here.