AI bots fuel boycotts against Amazon, McDonald’s over DEI reversal: analysis

Nearly a third of the posts on social media to boycott Amazon and McDonald’s for rolling back their controversial DEI initiatives were generated by AI bots, a shocking analysis from a cybersecurity firm found.

The coordinated campaign was behind 30% of the fake users making negative posts across X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, according to Cyabra, an Israeli disinformation security firm that analyzes public data using AI.

The organized digital attack included creating faux news sites — with names like Newsaz and The Worlds Best News — on Facebook last month that reported on the alleged McDonald’s boycott, Cyabra found.

McDonald’s and Amazon each slashed their diversity programs in January, just before President Trump took office.

Cyabra said it was not able to definitively identify who is behind the coordinated campaign, though it noted that The People’s Union USA led a similar boycott against Target, which also consisted of AI bot attacks.

The coordination between the social media boycotts against Target, McDonald’s and Amazon is clear, said Jill Burkes, head of PR and communications at Cyabra. 

Posts slamming Target, McDonald’s and Amazon all use the same slogans, visuals and hashtags, and the accounts tag one another and make posts in sync, she added.

The firm analyzed more than 5,000 profiles posting about McDonald’s across social media platforms from June 19 to June 26 and discovered 32% of them were fake.

Many of these accounts focused on the fast-food giant’s DEI reversal, using hashtags like #DEIrollback, #CorporateAccountability and #EconomicJustice.

A whopping 35% of 3,000 accounts posting about Amazon from the start of this year through June 20 were fake, as well, according to Cyabra. 

A focused analysis of posts on X from June 1 to June 24 found that 55% of accounts involved in conversations targeting Amazon were fake

These bots also used similar or identical hashtags, including #PrimeDayStrike, #AmazonStrike and #AmazonFail.

The Post reached out out to Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, TikTok and X for comment.

The campaign does not seem to align with a particular political agenda. Rather, it’s focused on amplifying tensions between both sides, Burkes said.

“Some fake accounts post as progressive voices calling out DEI rollbacks. Others pose as conservative users, mocking the brands for going ‘woke’ in the first place. In some cases, bots even argue with each other,” Burkes told The Post.

“The goal isn’t to pick a side, it’s to manufacture polarization and draw real users into a louder, more emotional debate.”

Fake profiles typically account for just 7% to 10% of activity across social media, according to Cyabra.

But that percentage spikes during conversations around sensitive or polarizing topics, like politics, elections and war zones, the firm has found.

Bots attempt to mimic grassroots activism and sometimes take a broader stance.

Some posts related to the McDonald’s boycott, for example, included hashtags like #WorkingClassPower and #EconomicBlackout.

The Post reached out to McDonald’s and Amazon for comment.