X sues two men over alleged fake bitcoin news bot farm

X is suing Vivek Kumar Sen and Zmyang Sherpa, whom the lawsuit identifies as the alleged masterminds behind a network of fake bitcoin news accounts. Lewis Silkin LLP is representing X. X terminated the accounts on Aug. 18 and is seeking repayment of creator earnings and damages for alleged fraud and conspiracy. The lawsuit puts at least 207,000 pounds ($277,000) in disputed creator-fund payouts at stake. Costs related to further investigations and remediation remain unquantified. The lawsuit names nine accounts as part of the alleged network: @Vivek4real_, @Bitcoin_Teddy, @saylordocs, @TrendingBitcoin, @Kalshibacktest, @PolyBackTest, @BTC_Vibes, @MrSuperBitcoin and @Laserlump. The accounts allegedly circulated fake breaking-news headlines that often matched word for word and appeared on X only seconds apart. Most of the posts allegedly made unsubstantiated and unverified claims involving major finance figures to attract mass attention. Examples included a claim that Goldman Sachs' chief executive was pushing a crypto bill and a claim that Citibank had bought $12.6 million in bitcoin. The lawsuit also alleges that the defendants repeatedly liked, replied to and reposted the posts to create a facade of false engagement.