Is Nicki Minaj's Barbz Community Just An Army Of Bots?

Over the past year, Nicki Minaj has reshaped her public image in a major way. Once known primarily as a chart-dominating rap superstar, she has increasingly stepped into the political arena, taking aim at Democratic leaders, amplifying MAGA-aligned messaging and showing public support for President Donald Trump. But according to a new report shared exclusively with Politico, another force may have been working behind the scenes to elevate her online political presence.

Here’s what the Cyabra report found.

A new report, compiled by disinformation detection firm Cyabra, alleges that a coordinated network of more than 18,000 bots amplified Minaj’s political-related posts on X between Nov. 11 and Dec. 28. Researchers say these accounts helped drive algorithms to expand the reach of her content, often flooding comment sections with praise using “highly similar language,” particularly when authentic users were criticizing her. Now, people are wondering if the rapper’s dedicated Barbz fanbase is a complete sham.

“We don’t really see a lot of high volume, high impact orchestration of bad and fake actors within that intersection of the geopolitically driven and music culture,” said Dan Brahmy, the CEO and founder of Cyabra. “It is scarce in our field to see the combination of the bad and the fake online world with the entertainment world.”

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Cyabra says it is about 85 percent confident the identified accounts are fake, noting that narrowing the criteria further could raise confidence levels into the 90s.

“We always have to make sure that we play at a confidence level that’s strong enough for people to rely on it, and doesn’t really change the narrative,” Brahmy said.

The report also found that posts labeled as “toxic,” meaning those containing personal attacks, slurs, threats or language meant to discourage engagement, saw even stronger amplification.

“When the conversation is limited to toxic content, a substantially stronger amplification effect emerges,” the report found. “These accounts predominantly amplify content produced by Nicki Minaj and Turning Point USA, indicating a notable overlap between the two within this discourse. Several of the accounts involved had previously been identified as exhibiting fake campaign-like behavior in the context of Minaj’s online activity within and relating to the music industry.”

Nicki Minaj’s public support of President Donald Trump began to surge in November 2025.

Minaj has become an ally of President Trump and his associates in recent months. Notably, in November 2025, the rapper made an appearance at the United Nations headquarters, where she praised Trump for defending Christians against “extremism” in Nigeria, remarks that came less than two weeks after she publicly supported Trump’s Truth Social post claiming that Christianity was “facing an existential threat in Nigeria” due to “radical Islamists.” Minaj later thanked Trump on X, writing that his words made her “feel a deep sense of gratitude.”

In December, Minaj made a surprise appearance at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest summit, where she joined Erika Kirk, who had assumed leadership of the conservative youth organization following the assassination of her husband, Charlie Kirk, on stage.

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Interestingly, the Cyabra report noted that the bots allegedly in control of Minaj’s social media surge left “longer, more detailed comments designed to appear organic,” and it identified Dec. 26, 2025, as a peak day, when fake profiles allegedly made up 56 percent of comments on Minaj’s political posts. The bots reportedly boosted her posts about Trump, the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, her criticism of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and broader culture-war issues, as well as music-related content.

Alex Bruesewitz, a media and political adviser to Trump who calls Minaj a “very close friend,” rejected the claims.

“Nicki has never used bot activity to promote herself on social media, because she doesn’t need to,” Bruesewitz said. “She has one of the largest fan bases of any musician that’s alive today.”

She recently took aim at Gov. Gavin Newsom.

While Minaj has not directly addressed the bot allegations, she recently made headlines for criticizing California Gov. Gavin Newsom, again, following a Feb. 22 interview with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.

During the event, Newsom reflected on his academic struggles while promoting his book Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery, but some conservatives felt his tone came off condescending.

“I’m not trying to impress you, I’m just trying to impress upon you I’m like you, I’m not better than you,” Newsom said. “I’m a 960 SAT guy and you know, I’m not trying to offend anyone — you know — trying to act all there if you got 940 — but literally, a 960 SAT guy. You’ve never seen me read a speech because I cannot read a speech. Maybe the wrong business to be.”

The clip quickly went viral, with conservatives and Republican officials accusing Newsom of making racially insensitive remarks. Minaj shared the video and sharply criticized the Democratic governor, writing in part:

“His way of bonding with black ppl is to tell them how stupid he is & that he can’t read. This means my first read on him was correct. He’s been handed so many things & put in high positions he never earned or deserved. Do you wanna know the craziest part of this footage that will haunt him forever? He’s literally slowing his speech down & talking in a sporadic cadence. He’s not just TELLING them that they’re all probably stupid & probably can’t read, he’s LITERALLY SLOW-ING-DOWN-HIS-SPEECH to make them understand the words that are coming out of his mouth!!!!”

The controversy adds yet another chapter to Minaj’s evolving and controversial role at the intersection of pop culture and politics.

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