Nicki Minaj spent the past year transforming herself from a polarizing rap superstar into a high-profile conservative provocateur, lobbing viral attacks at Democratic leaders, boosting MAGA talking points and earning public praise from President Donald Trump and his allies.
On social media, Minaj’s pugnacious persona and sharp-edged posts — including repeated broadsides against California Gov. Gavin Newsom — have made her a darling of the Trump administration and the conservative movement, drawing millions of views and steady amplification from far-right influencers.
But quietly, humming in the background of her varied social media blitzes, a sophisticated army of bots was unconditionally praising and amplifying Minaj’s content, according to a new report shared exclusively with POLITICO.
This raises the question: whose bots are these? Is she padding her own numbers to pretend she’s still relevant, or has someone else used a bunch of bots to manipulate a vulnerable narcissist into being their own puppet?
Neither excuse her behavior, but we already know bots are being used to nudge the general consensus, but how far could you manipulate an individual person with an army of targeted bots.
And just in case anyone is getting the wrong idea, I’m not making excuses for Nicki Minaj, or trying to turn her into a victim. I’m not aware of any evidence that her recent behavior isn’t genuinely who she is. This headline just happened to make me consider that terrifying potential of the reality we find ourselves in.
