ZachXBT Exposes 350,000 Fake Followers: War Misinformation Drives Traffic, Crypto Scam Resurfaces Pump-and-Dump Scheme

Gate News reports that on March 23, on-chain investigator ZachXBT disclosed that an X account named “Rashid bin Saeed” has been posting false geopolitical information to attract attention, suspected to be preparing for future crypto asset manipulation and pump-and-dump schemes. The account previously spread a so-called “Iran Infrastructure Strike List,” involving energy and nuclear facilities in multiple countries, which went viral.

Investigation shows that this account has changed its name multiple times since 2025 and was verified in February 2026. It currently has over 350,000 followers, but its identity and background are clearly suspicious. ZachXBT pointed out that such accounts often generate high conflict narratives to quickly gain traffic, then shift to promoting low-liquidity tokens to harvest funds.

On-chain data further reveals that a Telegram channel associated with this account is promoting a meme coin called CHIBI, leveraging Elon Musk-related topics to boost exposure. Data shows that CHIBI’s market cap is only about $3.9 million, with a decline of over 23% in the past 24 hours, exhibiting typical high volatility.

This operational pattern closely matches past cases. ZachXBT previously tracked the “Crypto Beast” incident in 2025, where an account manipulated market sentiment via social media, drove ALT tokens higher, then sold off heavily, resulting in a 97% price crash and involving approximately $11 million.

The current market environment amplifies such risks. According to Alternative.me, as of March 23, the crypto fear and greed index dropped to 8, in the “extreme fear” zone, remaining there for over a month. This level of sentiment is comparable to the FTX incident in 2022, indicating that market confidence remains fragile.

In a highly volatile and uncertain environment, false information is more easily amplified and can induce investors to make irrational decisions. ZachXBT warns that before participating in any token trading or project, investors should verify information sources and be cautious of market manipulation driven by hot topics.