Network of Coordinated Inauthentic X (formerly Twitter) Accounts Promote Argentine Candidate After Presidential Debate

As Argentina’s October 22nd presidential election approaches, candidates are making their final cases to the public. In the second presidential debate, the five remaining candidates exchanged barbs and promoted new policy proposals, like the creation of an Argentine FBI.¹ Javier Milei used the debate as an opportunity to promote anti-government conspiracy theories related to Agenda 2030, likely building on the narratives that were widely disseminated in the lead up to the primaries ² Logically observed a network of 54 accounts exhibiting coordinated, inauthentic behavior that amplified this extremist Agenda 2030 messaging, while encouraging voters to support Milei.

Milei Appeals to Voters by Playing into Conspiracy Theory

In a clear effort to appeal to Argentines who were sympathetic to the anti-government conspiracy theories related to #Agenda2030 during the primaries, primary winner Javier Milei simultaneously legitimized the conspiracy while distancing himself from it. When asked by candidate Juan Schiaretti his opinion on maintaining Argentina’s commitment to sustainability goals, Milei responded: “We are not going to adhere to Agenda 2030. We are not going to adhere to cultural Marxism.”

Soon after this remark, X (formerly Twitter) flooded with posts that amplified Milei’s messaging and indicated that his proclamation had swayed their vote. Within 24 hours, more than 5,600 X (formerly Twitter) posts praising Milei’s Agenda 2030 commentary entered the narrative ecosystem. They included clever memes and hashtags like #MileiPresidente and #MileiEnPrimeraVuelta. One user excitedly posted to “bring them a ballot box right now,”³ while another remarked “it's never been easier to know who to vote for.”⁴

Coordinated Inauthentic X Network Amplifies Pro-Milei Influencer

After the debate, political influencer and activist Agustín Laje (@AgustinLaje) posted on X (formerly Twitter):

“For all those who thought that @JMilei was a globalist, there is the truth: in the middle of the presidential debate he attacks Agenda 2030 and says that he is not going to adopt it for Argentina. No to Agenda 2030 ! No to globalism!”⁵

By the next day, Laje’s post had more than 3k reposts and 15k likes. Logically’s proprietary CIB detection model identified a network of 54 X (formerly Twitter) accounts exhibiting coordinated and inauthentic behavior that amplified this post via repost between October 8th and 11th. As of October 12th, this suspicious network had a cumulative reach of more than 53k accounts.

When Conspiracy Theories Hit the Main Stage

It is yet to be determined if Milei’s pandering to extremists will be enough to win later this month. However, it is undeniable how embracing these narratives as a part of his campaign has impacted his image on social media. As the evidence suggests, deceptive engagement behaviors surely played a part in the positive reception to his debate performance and could be used further to threaten the integrity of the general election. Logically Intelligence enables partners to stay ahead of threats like these by combining our world class technology and analytical tradecraft.

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