likely operating on the platform. >> is there any way to tell who is responsible for erika marsh or where they come from? >> that's the million dollar question isn't? it >> it's just fake. you know it's fake, the whole thing was fake. >> on the profile it says that erica marsh worked on the biden obama campaigns. i assume that is fake as well? >> anderson, it was all made up, but you see quite sophisticated there. experts tell us that this could easily have been the work of a foreign government or a group or even a ploy to make money from all the clicks and
Courtney Ballesteros shared her experience of her photos being stolen and used as a profile picture for a left-wing Twitter account that had close to 130k followers under the name Erica Marsh.
nearly a decade. all she said they were stolen from her facebook page. >> in my brother grandmother's front yard. >> and whoever or whatever is behind this count named erica marsh. the photos on the account from when courtney was still a teenager. she has since got married and had children. >> all right courtney, let me have you read erica marsh's most popular tweet, got over 27 million views and then let me tell you tell me what you think about it. >> today's supreme court decision is a direct attack on black people. no black person will be able to succeed in the system. what do you think? >> i am speechless. >> speechless because wallace farrell fake account shows shares courtney's face, to do not share the same politics? >> are you? liberal >> no, no. >> are you a republican? >> yes i am. >> can i ask you which way you voted in the last presidential elections? >> of course i voted for trump.
>> you sense the irony here right? some people thought that this wasn't a i've voted i generated tweet. >> when i saw that it also made me laugh. i was also like, they don't even think i'm real? >> it was her friends who first alerted her. >> hey like there's this twitter account, is it yours? they were posting crazy things. >> over months, march only group more popular. >> i think it was even an elected representative that enacted the accounts. >> matt gaetz. >> with my face, so that is. shocking >> but courtney only group more concerned about it's message. >> twitter has a policy against impersonation. once the erika marsh account was removed, courtney felt relieved but not safe. >> i do want to be out in public and someone notice my picture that was on the account approach me approach my family. who knows what someone like to the didn't gray with what erica marsh was saying.
ploy to make money from the clicks and attention that erica marsh was getting. either way, there is a real concern about these sorts of fake accounts and the influence they could have leading up to the 2024 election. >> it also had a blue check on the account. what does x say about this? >> twitter rarely responds to comment. twitter and facebook have recently laid off hundreds of people, including the very staff whose job it was to tackle disinformation and these sorts of fake accounts. so, it really points to making it harder to police these sorts of fake influencers. >> isabella row zaless, thanks so much. the entire city of yellow night, canada, is rushing to evacuate, as a massive wildfire threatens their community. it's not easy to get out of harms way. ♪ this just in ♪ ♪ got the keys s to what you want and what you need ♪ ♪ something new somethining sweet ♪ ♪ moving to a different beat ♪ ♪ okay now (what?) ♪
the reported names, photos, and addresses on the trump indictment were circulated online and led to threats around them. that's one example of how everyday americans can be victimized from social media. we've seen disinformation campaigns and fake images generated with ai. isabella -- has -- once popular but fake far left political account on twitter. >> erica marsh. >> erica. >> erica marsh. >> reporter: erica marsh quickly rose as a viral left wing voice on social media. her tweets ultraliberal and politically charged through millions of views and the ire of republicans. tweets like, do you agree drag story hour should be mandated. and, why does it seem like most republicans are pedophiles. the account had nearly 130,000 followers. marsha's top tweet viewed --
once the erica marsh account was removed, courtney felt relieved but not safe. >> i don't want to be out in public and someone notice my picture that was on the account, approach me, approach my family. who knows what someone would do that didn't agree with what erica marsh was saying. >> whoever's running this account knows what people like, and knows how to get attention. >> reporter: darin lindeville, a professor at clemson university, studies disinformation and trolling. what is erica marsh? is it a parody, a troll, a disinformation campaign? what is she? >> erica marsh is a fake online influencer. she isn't a troll in the way that a lot of viewers may think of a troll. >> reporter: he believes this was the work of a professional. >> this is not an amateur, no. it would be very hard for an amateur to get to well over 100,000 followers in such a short amount of time. >> reporter: and courtney's pictures, plucked on purpose. >> she looks all american. she looks good friendly.
elected representative that interacted with the account with my face. so, that is shocking. >> reporter: but kourtney only grew more concerned about its message. twitter has a policy against impersonation. once the erica marsh account was removed, kourtney felt relieved but not safe. >> i don't want to be out in public and someone notice my picture that was on the account, approach me, approach my family. who knows what someone would do that didn't agree with what erica marsh was saying. >> whoever is running this account knows what people like and knows how to get attention. >> reporter: a professor at clemson university studies disinformation and trolling. >> what is erica marsh? is it a parody? is it a troll? is it a disinformation campaign? what is she? >> erica marsh is a fake online influencer. she isn't a troll in the way that a lot of viewers may think of a troll. >> reporter: he believes this was the work of a professional.
it was a fake, but the photos were not. now cnn exclusively shares the real face that's on the notorious account. >> are you erica marsh? >> no. >> but that's your face. >> seems to be. >> why are you talking to us? >> i want to tell the world that that's not me. my name is not erica marsh. i am kourtney. >> reporter: she lives in a rural part of the tampa bay area in florida. she showed cnn her original photos, nearly a decade old. she says they were stolen from her facebook page by whoever or whatever is behind this account. the photos on the account are from when kourtney was still a teenager. she's since gotten married and had children. >> let me read you erica marsh's most popular tweet. it got over 27 million views. and then tell me what you think about it.
but ultimately, it's about influence. it's meant to engage with a very specific audience, and to get people a little bit angry. >> reporter: whether the goal of the account was to generate money or sow division, lindeville says the real owner of erica marsh is likely still operating on the platform. is there any way to tell who's responsible for erica marsh or where they come from? >> that's the million-dollar question, isn't it? >> it's just fake. you know, it's fake. the whole thing was fake. >> and the erica marsh profile bioclaims she worked for the obama and biden campaigns. we check in, and of course it was made up. it's important to note that there are still accounts up on twitter right now using courtney's face. we have reached out to twitter about that. we've not heard back. kate? >> all right. thank you for the story. sara? the internet used for doing bad. nothing new there. all right. coming up, an historic summit at camp david. what message will this gathering send to china which has sent a