SALISBURY — As the political cycle heats up, so do the attack ads, and while that may feel like a part of the process, sometimes attempts to gain an edge take on a sinister countenance.

For at least the last week, Facebook users browsing the site for local stories have possibly come across a page called Redmond4Rowan, which presented itself as a campaign page for Alissa Redmond, a Democratic candidate for the Rowan County Board of Commissioners.

There’s just one problem — it was not Redmond.

In fact, neither Redmond nor anyone campaigning for her had any connection to the page. To the unwitting observer, it might have appeared legitimate. It used photos from Redmond’s personal Facebook page and even copied a post that Redmond made earlier this year about a Republican commissioner candidate forum.

However, not every post and picture was lifted from Redmond’s account.

Whoever was running the Redmond4Rowan page shared a Salisbury Post article about a gun store opening downtown and commented that if elected, gun stores would no longer be tolerated.

Another post linked to a drag show event and captioned, “All ages welcome.”

While some social media users may have interacted (liked, laughed, etc.) at the posts and moved on, comments from several users indicated a perceived authenticity of the source.

Upon discovery of the fraudulent page, Redmond contacted Facebook about taking it down and sent a letter to the company’s oversight board. In her letter, Redmond wrote that whoever was behind the false page “created a new account using my campaign slogan, graphics supporting my campaign, my photos and some of my posts on my personal page to comment on accounts for our local newspaper and other candidates’ pages, among other sites, trying to misrepresent my values and platform.”

Redmond’s letter expressed concern about the polarizing nature of politics, emphasizing how important accurate information about candidates is and urging Facebook to take action.

“This election will be polarizing enough based on the legitimate beliefs of many candidates,” the letter read. “For your platform to allow spoof accounts of candidates to live on your website without even acknowledging reported misstatements from members, you will greatly impact the outcome of this election in a very negative manner.”

On Wednesday, Redmond spoke about how the fraudulent page impacted her.

“I’m not terribly troubled by the account,” Redmond said. “People have attacked me and my business online with regularity, so I am not surprised when individuals go to greater lengths to draw attention to their own fears. I am deeply unnerved by the fact that so many can be easily misled by something obviously fake.”

In this day and age, many voters look to Facebook and other social media platforms for information about candidates. That information is not always genuine, relevant or accurate. Redmond hopes this instance can serve as a learning example for many seeking to learn more about candidates before they go to the polls.

“This election will be polarizing enough based on the legitimate beliefs of many candidates,” Redmond said. “Voters must be aware Facebook allows spoof accounts of candidates to live on their platform without even acknowledging reported misstatements from members. If voters don’t do their own research and rely solely on social media posts as a source of their opinions, this will negatively impact the outcome of this election.”

Since announcing her candidacy, Redmond has seen her fair share of attacks and attempts to harm her campaign and her personal and professional life.

“I’ve been the target of several local “news wire” and “free press” articles,” Redmond said. “People have called me a “groomer” on yard sale sites, which I’ve had to explain to my adoption agency as I am in the middle of bringing my third child home.

“There is a lot of fear of what I represent on display online by a few outliers. I don’t believe these individuals hold a lot of sway in terms of public opinion, but I know they wouldn’t spend hours of their lives writing about me if they didn’t believe my candidacy is viable. Again, I know my candidacy is viable, and I don’t need that validation from uninformed blowhards on the internet, but the attention they provide is interesting.”

With misinformation so readily accessible at social media users’ fingertips, it’s easy enough for it to spread like wildfire, and it’s far from harmless discourse. Redmond cited remarks from President John F. Kennedy’s address to a group at Vanderbilt University in 1963.

“But the educated citizen knows how much more there is to know,” Kennedy said. “He knows that ‘knowledge is power,’ more so today than ever before. He knows that only an educated and informed people will be a free people, that the ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.”

While the latest attempts to impersonate Redmond received some attention from the Post and social media users, she is not the only local official who has been impersonated.

Rowan-Salisbury School Board Chair Alisha Byrd-Clark was recently impersonated by a spam Facebook account. Byrd-Clark’s term on the school board concludes this year.

She is running against Republican Harry Warren for the District 76 seat in the North Carolina House of Representatives. Byrd-Clark is a Democrat and does not have a primary challenger next month. Warren similarly does not have a challenger.

Byrd-Clark indicated on Wednesday that she did not know about the fraudulent Facebook account until a friend reached out to her.

“I received a text from a friend saying, ‘Hey, do you have a new campaign page?” Byrd-Clark said.

Much like Redmond, the page that was impersonating Byrd-Clark lifted her profile picture to make the fake page appear legitimate. Something was slightly different with Byrd-Clark’s impersonator, however. The phony profile picture included a heart and an earth image.

Another friend contacted Byrd-Clark to let her know that she had received a friend request from an account that appeared to be her. That friend reported the phony account to Facebook.

Byrd-Clark’s case proved slightly different from Redmond’s in that whoever was running the account did not make posts of a political nature but rather attempted to engage in private messages with Facebook friends about Bitcoin and investing tips.

For the school board chair, who prefers to talk business rather than type it, the messenger attempts should throw up a red flag.

“People inbox me all the time about school board or personal matters, and I say, ‘Call me on the phone,'” Byrd-Clark said.

Byrd-Clark expressed gratitude to have friends looking out for such online behavior.

“I’m glad I have a friend that catches stuff and knows that it’s not me,” she said.

However, she worries about how easy it was for someone to attempt to impersonate her and urges social media users and voters to be “overly conscious” about what they consume.

“People are out there trying to interrupt discourse and disrupt the campaign,” Byrd-Clark said. “Know who your candidate is and what they stand for. That way, you won’t get suckered into the stuff they are putting out there.”

As of this writing, Byrd-Clark’s page had been taken down. Redmond4Rowan no longer appears in Facebook searches either.