According to the American CNN news network, children, university students, and other dark-skinned people received text messages from unknown phone numbers that included:Hate filled speech“, and refers to the “era of slavery.”
Students from three colleges and universities known to have a historically black population reported receiving the text messages, according to data from the universities.
One message read: “You have been selected to pick cotton from the nearest plantation. Please bring your luggage by ten o’clock sharp. Our executive servants will meet you in a brown truck.”
Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced that the Federal Communications Commission’s Office of Enforcement is investigating the text messages.
“These messages are unacceptable,” she said. “We take this type of targeting very seriously.”
The FBI confirmed that it is “aware of the offensive and racist text messages sent to individuals, and is in contact with the Department of Justice and other federal authorities regarding this matter,” according to a statement issued Thursday.
Anonymous messages
CNN says the source of the text messages is unclear.
She adds: “It was not immediately clear who sent the messages, and there is no complete list to whom they were delivered. At least some of them appear to have been sent through Text Now,” while the company believes it is a “widespread and coordinated attack.”
“Once we became aware, our Trust and Safety team acted quickly, quickly disabling the relevant accounts in less than an hour,” the company told the news network.
Service revealed Text messages The other, “Text Spot,” told CNN, “A new user registered on Wednesday and attempted to use the platform to send a message with racist language.”
A statement from the company explained: “A job indicated artificial intelligence We immediately blocked the message from being sent until we could conduct an internal review. Our team quickly blocked the message and banned the user from our platform.”
The company said it shared information about the user and the message, which mirrored those received nationwide, with local law enforcement and the FBI.
Investigate the source of the messages
The Nevada Public Prosecution said in a statement on the “X” platform that the messages “appear to be… Robotic messagesThe Nevada Attorney General’s Office is working with law enforcement to investigate its source.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Morell told CNN: “Whoever sends… Racist messages “He uses a program to hide his identity and location.”
The prosecutor added that at least some of the messages were sent using an email service that routes traffic through Poland, but that does not mean the sender is there.
“It may be coming from Napoleonville, Louisiana,” Morell said. “We don’t know where it came from.”
Messages addressed by name
The “racist” messages, some of which spread on social media platforms, appear to have been sent to people by name.
Cori Vaclaris, an assistant professor of software and information services, told The Associated Press that the senders likely collected… Personal data By purchasing them online, they then entered that and other data into Algorithms Machine learning to obtain information.
“All of this means that it may be easier than most people realize to guess the race of the person associated with that phone number,” Vaclaris explained.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said that text messages that “appear to target black and brown individuals” may also include other personal information about the recipient, including their location.
