Generative AI is making it easier than ever to create fake people on social media.

These aren't just bots, though.

Today's versions are actual influencers with faces, personalities, and millions of followers.

Some promote wellness products, others are wielding political influence.

And in many cases, people don't realize or perhaps don't care that they're not real.

So how is this dystopian reality shaping our future?

Hello and welcome to USA Today's The Excerpt.

I'm Dana Taylor.

Today is Monday, April 27, 2026.

Here to help unpack this evolving story is Charlie Worsell, a staff writer at The Atlantic,

and the author of the Galaxy Brain newsletter that explores technology, media,

and big ideas. Charlie, thank you so much for being here.

Thanks for having me. Charlie, when did AI-generated influencers stop being a novelty

and become something that actually matters in an economy based on attention.

You know, I think in a lot of ways they are still a novelty while also mattering.

This is still a very new phenomenon.

Throughout the entire history of the Internet and the social web, there's always been fake people, right?

A lot of times, you know, there are fake

Facebook accounts of people who don't exist, people on message boards a long time ago,

were pretending to be people who they weren't. It's kind of a core tenet of the internet to be

anonymous and sort of role play as somebody else. But with the advent of generative AI tools and large language models,

really we've seen in the last, let's say, 18 months, a leap forward in the technology that

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