Research/Study
A network of pro-Trump public Facebook groups is promoting right-wing clickbait
On October 1, Facebook announced it would be making it easier for people to find new public groups and their content
Published
As Facebook plans to boost its groups into the news feeds of the users who don’t follow them and even in searches outside of Facebook, a network of pro-Trump public Facebook groups is promoting right-wing clickbait websites that contain misleading and sensational content.
Media Matters has found a network of at least five pro-Trump public Facebook groups -- Kayleigh McEnany Fan Club, Trump Daily Report, TRUMP TRAIN-MAGA Fan Club, Sarah Sanders Fox News Fans, and God Bless Trump -- which regularly promote right-wing clickbait including conspiracy theories, false claims about election fraud, and other misinformation. Key findings include:
- In September, 3,400 posts were shared in these five groups, earning over 10.1 million interactions.
- Kayleigh McEnany Fan Club, created in June 2020, is the newest group in the right-wing clickbait Facebook network but it is also the most active, with over 394,000 members and more than 2,000 posts in September alone.
- Posts in Kayleigh McEnany Fan Club have earned significant engagement in recent news cycles, including those related to the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and discredited right-wing group Project Veritas’ false accusations of voter fraud.
- At least half of the posts that contain links include an article from MAGAConservatives.com, Reedcooper.net, MediaRightNews.com, or ConservativePT.com. Many of these posts are shared by administrators and moderators for these pro-Trump groups.