Nicki Minaj’s turn to MAGA is, according to a new report obtained by Politico. partly fueled by an army of bot accounts on X.
The report, from the company Cyabra, analyzed interactions on 51 “politically-related posts” on Minaj’s X account between November 11 and December 22 – just as the rapper was cementing her new role as the darling of the right.
Of more than 55,000 profiles that interacted with these posts, at least 33 percent (nearly 19,000) were likely fake, according to Cyabra. According to the report, usual guidelines for fake accounts in “organic social media discourse” are between seven and ten percent.
Analysis of fake profiles
“Based on the scale, concentration, and behavioral consistency of the inauthentic activity identified,” the report states, “Cyabra assesses with high certainty that a coordinated fake campaign actively amplified political content” on Minaj’s X account. (The person who commissioned the report from Cyabra was not named for fear of public retaliation.)
A key indication of a lack of authenticity was a “linguistic and stylistic uniformity” among the allegedly fake accounts. When Minaj was criticized, these profiles responded with support using “highly similar language and messages,” according to the report.
Speech patterns and reinforcement
While some shared longer, more detailed comments that were intended to appear organic, the report describes many posts as “short, repetitive, and lacking in semantic complexity.” The aim was to “shape the overall tenor of the discussion through sheer mass rather than through conviction,” according to the presentation. (Unsurprisingly, the report also found that toxic content received “significantly greater amplification” related to Minaj’s posts.)
According to the report, these suspected fake profiles often posted in parallel with authentic users and “adopted interaction rhythms that closely resembled organic behavior.” Such patterns indicated “a deliberate attempt to integrate into real conversations and thereby increase the credibility and visibility of the amplified content.”
Overlaps and reactions
Cyabra’s report also found overlap between accounts that amplified Minaj’s posts and those that shared content from Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk’s right-wing organization.
Speaking to Politico, Cyabra CEO and founder Dan Brahmy said: “We don’t often see high-volume, high-impact orchestration of bad and fake actors at this intersection of geopolitically driven issues and music culture. It’s rare in our field to see the combination of the bad and fake online world with the entertainment world.”
Strategic coordination?
At the same time, Cyabra found that Minaj’s posts and lines of argument were also amplified by numerous authentic accounts, including prominent conservative influencers such as Dom Lucre and Matt Wallace. These not only picked up on Minaj’s political content, but also shared some of her complaints about the music industry – with posts that attacked Kendrick Lamar and Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge.
Dan Brahmy explained that this suggests a form of strategic coordination: “Real people behave in exactly the same ways and use exactly the same patterns of behavior as you would expect from a well-coordinated campaign. They reinforce each other. They ride the same, similar narrative wave.”
Rejections and counterattacks
Lucre rejected this account and attacked the Politico article on social media. “Nicki Minaj is now pulling so many liberals to the right that they now have to spread a theory that these people aren’t real and she’s manipulating the system with bots,” he said. “If Nicki Minaj was manipulating systems with bots on Instagram, TikTok, or
ROLLING STONE did not receive a response to requests for comment from Minaj. Alex Bruesewitz, a friend of Minaj and a political adviser to Donald Trump, told Politico: “Nicki has never used bot activity to promote herself on social media because she doesn’t need to. She has one of the largest fan bases of any musician alive today.”
Connections and allegations
When asked again by ROLLING STONE, Bruesewitz reiterated this stance: “The idea that she would rely on bots for online support is completely absurd,” he wrote in an email. “Cyabra is working with Roc Nation Chief Digital Officer David Wander and with Cardi B’s agent Mike G. Given the long-standing, public disputes between Nicki and Jay-Z/Roc Nation and Cardi B, this allegation seems like a 100 percent fabricated hoax.” (Mike G, partner at United Talent Agency, and Wander both sit on the Cyabra Brand & Entertainment Council. A comment from Roc Nation was not available.)
After Bruesewitz made similar claims on (“Isn’t that your friend CEO?” Cardi wrote, referring to Wayne’s role as founder of Young Money Entertainment.) “You’re desperate to implicate me, but you won’t talk about the facts,” she wrote.
Mike G also commented: “Let’s be clear: My advisory role and investment in Cyabra, as well as several other technology companies, has absolutely nothing to do with Cardi B. Cardi doesn’t need bots, narratives or manufactured noise. She shapes culture on her own. I invest in innovation. I represent artists. These are separate areas. To spin this into something else is convenient and misleading.”
Personal goal instead of ideology
Interestingly, despite the heavy focus on Minaj’s political repositioning, Cyabra concluded that the alleged bot network had a personal rather than ideological goal. The goal was to “increase visible support for Nicki Minaj… to create the impression of broad public approval and a supportive fan base.”
