The story of “Griselda,” part cat, part fish, all fake.
As I’ll explain, “Griselda” is an instrument being used by someone to affect upcoming local elections. I think it’s appropriate to warn our local politicians of the skullduggery they may face at the same time I alert community members to beware of fake neighbors and unreal Facebook friends. Below I’ll share my experience with “Griselda” with Durham’s leaders and with my readers via an open letter to our elected officials.
But first, a brief primer on “catfishing.”
Shocker – the internet is filled with fakes and cons. Scamming is the real pandemic of our times. Almost all of us can be infected with the viruses of misinformation, disinformation, and flat out lies through our routine reliance on social media for information (it’s on the internet, must be true) and connection (the kind where you don’t leave your computer chair or meet a human).
When a scammer creates a fake online identity for a nefarious purpose it’s called “catfishing.” Catfishing is famously associated with romance frauds but it is now endemic in political messaging.
Let’s hear from Dr. Google and then I’ll share my recent encounters with catfishers. Embarrassingly, I was temporarily punked by a political catfisher right here in Durham.
Google AI Overview:
Political catfishing in Durham, North Carolina, could involve using fake online identities to manipulate or mislead individuals about political issues, candidates, or campaigns, potentially influencing their voting decisions or undermining public trust in the electoral process.
There have been documented cases of misinformation and disinformation efforts impacting elections in North Carolina, according to NCSBE.gov. While the specific term “political catfishing” may not always be explicitly used, these activities fall under the umbrella of online manipulation and deception.
You never know where catfishers will turn up. I think the answer today is “everywhere.” This last month I discovered two where I would least expect fakery, on a Corgi owner site. Really, scammers? You have to violate the puppy world? I guess puppy parents sharing anecdotes, photos, and advice with other puppy parents make easy marks for scummy scammers. So sad. I warned my fellow Corgi people to watch out for the imposters and give NO ONE personal or financial information.
I wasn’t duped by the Corgi site catfishers but soon proved myself to be dupable. In fact, I was temporarily duped in forums where I definitely should have expected deception, political campaign social media and political discussions within a local message board.
It’s important to note that candidates (including incumbents seeking re-election) are not necessarily responsible for catfishers on their social media or trolling on the platforms of others. However, once alerted to a fraudster in their midst, if they can, a candidate should delete the fake posts. Otherwise, a candidate can be seen as allowing fakery and being complicit in spreading disinformation.
Below is my open letter to Durham electeds:
RE: Griselda, a CatFisher’s Puppet
Dear Mayor Williams and council members, Chair Allam and commissioners:
I am writing this letter under the assumption that all of our local officials, regardless of whether I agree with you on specific issues, are basically honest and don’t want deception and disinformation to corrupt our local campaigns and elections. However, there are some bad actors in Durham who are not constrained by ethics, honesty, or decency, and will do whatever to advance their own interests. Attempting to influence voters by infiltrating social media platforms, disguised as regular neighbors and community members, and smearing opponents is one way. It’s called “catfishing,” and it’s becoming endemic in political campaigns.
One local catfisher has created “Griselda.” A fake identity to infiltrate social media sites popular with Durham city and county residents, especially those of us who care about the political future of our town and county.
I’m going into some detail below about my experiences with Griselda because many of us, including me until my own catfish encounter, don’t realize the pervasiveness of catfishing on our community platforms. I think this is true of most of you as well. If we are on NextDoor we want to believe and do believe we are reading and participating in announcements, observations, inquiries, and discussions by community members (and your constituents) living nearby and having similar concerns to our own. We are especially gullible when posts and comments are made under what we believe are real names of real people. Sadly, as you will see, catfishers create fake profiles either hacking other accounts and stealing profiles or creating identities from scratch – maybe “cat scratch” for catfishers?
The first time I “met” Griselda was under a Facebook candidacy announcement for the ward one council position. Griselda, posing as a supporter of the candidate, made comments savaging councilmember Freeman and added slander against former Mayor O’Neal and former councilmember Holsey-Hyman. Regarding Holsey-Hyman, Griselda expressed an intense hostile interest in Holsey-Hyman’s lawsuit against the city and some councilmembers. Clueless, I fell into an exchange with Griselda.
My second encounter with Griselda was almost two months later. Griselda was on NextDoor under a post from an active and knowledgeable Durham resident. On ND Griselda jumped into a conversation among several legitimate community members. Griselda again attacked Holsey-Hyman, O’Neal and Freeman, disparaged Holsey-Hyman’s lawsuit, and offered excuses for disgraced developer, Jarrod Edens.
Tellingly, Griselda cited and posted a link to an article in the Carolina Journal. The Carolina Journal is a publication of the John Locke Foundation, a right wing think tank. Raleigh developer Jim Anthony who engineered the triangle’s biggest gift to developers, SCAD, is a former board member of the Locke Foundation. The linked Carolina Journal article was written by David Larson, former deputy director of the NC Republican Senate Caucus. To be clear, I am not suggesting The Carolina Journal, John Locke Foundation, Jim Anthony or David Larson are associated with Griselda or other fake social media. I’m suggesting Griselda’s citing of the Carolina Journal, a publication from the political right which is unlikely to be widely read by Durham’s progressive insiders, may be a clue to the identity of Griselda’s ventriloquist.
It was not until my second Griselda experience that I realized I was being catfished. My more sophisticated friends spotted fake Griselda long before I did but, being me, I was compelled to do more digging.
I returned to the candidacy announcement FB page to review Griselda’s comments.. There, Griselda included a last name, “Negron.” It was facebook so I realized Griselda had to have a FB account. I clicked on “Griselda Negron.” Sure enough:
If you don’t have your reading glasses on, Griselda’s profile says she is an Environmental Services Supervisor (EVS) at Durham Public Schools. She includes a profile picture.
However, a public records search shows no Griselda Negron associated with North Carolina. DPS denied Griselda Negron is now or ever has been an employee. Although it’s hard to see on the small FB picture, the profile picture on her FB page is an AI generated fake (when you enlarge the photo you can see “AI generated” written in watermark). Her FB page was created this year and all the posts are generic photos. It’s likely all the posts on the page are AI generated. All traits of catfishers’ fake accounts.
On ND I confronted Griselda with the fact her FB profile picture was fake. Imagine a spouse finding sexting on their partner’s phone. Does the caught partner admit, apologize or explain? No. What is the most common cheaters’ response, “How dare you look at my texts!!!?” What was Griselda’s response to being outed on the fake profile picture?
Griselda: “When your arguments … don’t really sway…you resort to trying to locate my picture. That’s hilarious!“
Deflect, redirect, attack. Thanks, Griselda. Just as good as a confession.
Perhaps Griselda popping up on a couple of social media sites isn’t such a big deal. But, my two encounters are just the tip of the ice berg.
Griselda: . I have been giving my views on several community review groups and have not seen your face show up
Griselda is intruding in many places I haven’t visited and probably don’t know about. And even though she’s been outed on the two sites where I found her, catfishers often invent another fake identity and continue to spread their disinformation.
I am not including details of Griselda’s comments. I don’t want to publicize the falsehoods. If any of you are interested in seeing if you can identify Griselda’s puppet master from their words and style of speech, contact me. I will send you the full conversations. My strong bet is on someone inside city hall or very close to someone inside, but that’s just my guess.
Ultimately, Griselda is just one example of insidious dirty tricks all too common in politics. None of you and none of us can eradicate catfishing. We can out the imposters when we find them. You candidates/electeds can disassociate yourselves from any fake supporters on on your sites or other social media.
Please keep campaigns clean. Respect Durham’s voters by exposing, deleting, and blocking catfishers no matter what they are espousing.
Sincerely,
Katie Ross
SaveDurham.com
Save Durham 