Coordinated inauthentic behavior (CIB) describes organized efforts by networks of accounts to mislead people about who is behind a campaign and what they are doing. The term was popularized by major platforms to describe enforcement against influence operations.
Key characteristics
- Coordination — accounts act together, often on a schedule or from shared infrastructure.
- Inauthenticity — accounts misrepresent their identity, location, or purpose.
- Deception — the operation hides its true origin or sponsor.
Why it matters
CIB can amplify narratives, fake grassroots support, and drown out authentic debate around elections. Investigating it relies on network analysis, metadata, and timeline reconstruction rather than judging the content of any single post.
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