Obamacare may have received a massive amount of support on social media because many of its online defenders were paid professionals, according to digital expert Matthew Brown.
Brown told "Full Measure" host Sharyl Attkisson that people on social media were "being manipulated" to have certain opinions, according to the Washington Examiner.
Attkisson reported on Sunday that Brown sampled over 200,000 Facebook posts defending Obamacare and found that 60 percent came from just 100 profiles. Brown said that those profiles were "paid to post."
Leaked government emails discussed "creating an army of fake social media profiles" and using "tricks to add a level of realness to all fictitious personas," according to Attkisson.
Brown explained that fake Facebook profiles create "zombie posts," which receive "zombie" likes.
"A zombie post is a fake, purchased, or rented Facebook profile that's expressing the views of an organization as if it was his or her own," Brown said.
What is a "Zombie Post" and why do they matter? pic.twitter.com/TIbr7NT6k3
— Full Measure News (@FullMeasureNews) February 23, 2017
"Digital activists are paid employees; their purpose is to attack anyone who's posting something contrary to the view of the page owner wants expressed," Brown said.
Brown explained these posts occur in every "social" area of the internet, from Facebook profiles to the comments sections of every major newspaper.
"Everywhere social," he said. "Everywhere social means specific Facebook pages, but it also means the comment sections in every major newspaper."
Brown added that this tactic is used by both parties.
"There's no reason to believe that everybody's not doing it," he said.