Fake personas online are a bona fide warfare strategy - - they appear not only in the realms of spycraft & law enforcement but corporations and NGOs use them as well. Manufacturing Consensus is big business. The results, though, are wrecking society as people become more and more polarized, horrified by the attitudes and actions of Fake Idiots who they mistake for real people.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChfwmyI8VzKMNzRgVLP5Mrg/videos

References:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/jun/21/gchq-cables-secret-world-communications-nsa
https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/07/14/u-s-repeals-propaganda-ban-spreads-government-made-news-to-americans/
https://theintercept.com/2014/02/24/jtrig-manipulation/
https://boingboing.net/2011/02/18/hbgarys-high-volume.html
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2011/02/16/945768/-UPDATED:-The-HB-Gary-Email-That-Should-Concern-Us-All
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1084585
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/17/revealed-how-storyful-uses-tool-monitor-what-journalists-watch
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/405807-a-news-consumers-guide-to-astroturf-sources
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2017/09/21/sharyl-attkisson-you-know-the-obama-white-house-spied-on-me-too-n2384394
http://www.occupy.com/article/exclusive-who-killed-michael-hastings#sthash.yjdlyp1s.dpbs
https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/12/1210665_obama-leak-investigations-internal-use-only-pls-do-not.html
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/georgemonbiot/2011/feb/23/need-to-protect-internet-from-astroturfing
https://www.monbiot.com/2002/05/14/the-fake-persuaders/
https://www.thebrickfactory.com/factory
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/12/hate-crime-trial-youtube-user-video-dog-taught-do-nazi-salute/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOlMs6zIeZ4