Unmasking Deception: Allegations of Troll Accounts Linked to Kast and Connections to Fontaine, Góngora, and Poduje

Original article: “Deshonestidad e inmoralidad tremenda»: Las acusaciones por cuentas trolls pro Kast y los vínculos a Fontaine, Góngora y Poduje

Exposing Misinformation Operations and Troll Networks: A Look into Chile’s Far-Right Digital Machinery

A woman who starred in a viral TikTok video impersonating the cousin of presidential candidate Jeannette Jara has issued a public apology for what she called a «joke.» This setup, amplified by pro-Kast troll accounts, showed her, identified as Adriana Vargas Jara, accusing Jara of being a «social resentful» and wanting to «take what wasn’t hers.»

Watch the video (Spread by @RobertoMerken)

In response, Jeannette Jara’s campaign issued a statement denouncing a new «act of defamation» and announced legal measures, asserting that «we categorically deny that the woman in the video has any type of family or social connection with the candidate.»

Part of the Various ‘Tentacles’

These events are not isolated. An investigation by Reportea, in collaboration with Vergara 240, revealed that the AFP Association secretly financed the Ciudadanos en Acción foundation, led by Bernardo Fontaine, a member of Kast’s team. The report suggests that this organization orchestrated digital campaigns against pension reforms and attacked various candidacies, including payments to influencers and troll accounts. Candidate Jara stated that Fontaine, «having been paid by the AFP Association, opposed all times to a pension reform, telling Chileans he led a citizens’ movement called ‘Not with my money.'»

The former Superintendent of Pensions, Álvaro Gallegos, reacted strongly, according to Diario UChile: «In the end, what they do is finance the spread of lies and falsehoods to influence public opinion… It is a tremendous dishonesty and immorality.» Gallegos added that «industry associations should legally defend their members’ interests. But it is quite another thing to disseminate false news. These are people who genuinely exhibit gangster-like behaviors.»

The ‘Immoral’ Link Between the AFPs and Fontaine’s Trolls

Mirna Schindler labeled the AFP financing channeled through Fontaine’s Foundation to bots and trolls associated with Republicans as “immoral,” citing the involvement of “Patito Verde,” a former Canal 13 director, during a broadcast of “Descabelladas” on UChile TV:

Furthermore, an investigation by CIPER uncovered direct exchanges between Iván Poduje, a member of Kast’s policy team, and notorious troll accounts that have disseminated false information attacking candidates Jara and Evelyn Matthei. In the messages accessible to CIPER, Poduje thanks for information and even offers to meet for coffee with the administrator of the account @DRESTRUM__Pl, one of the most active profiles spreading information against Republican sector opponents. On these interactions, Poduje told CIPER: «No one knows. It’s totally secret. Everything I do is completely secret.»

The disinformation network revealed another connection when a Chilevisión report identified the account “Patito Verde” as Patricio Góngora, a businessman and former board member of Canal 13. The investigation showed that Góngora not only managed this corrosive-toned account but also participated in coordinating a network of bots and fake profiles to amplify Kast’s messages and attack his adversaries. Candidate Jara stated, «The CHV report confirmed something very serious: the manipulation with bots is no longer a suspicion; it’s a reality that harms democracy.»

These systematic revelations depict a picture of coordinated disinformation operations. The Superintendence of Pensions has reached out to the AFPs to provide information regarding advertising managed within the scope of these digital campaigns, an action that Gallegos deemed necessary but insufficient given the limitations of institutional frameworks. The recurring pattern in these cases highlights a political strategy that prioritizes dirty tactics over the debate of ideas, challenging the foundations of an informed and healthy democracy.