Jonah Patel
Social media platforms have been instrumental in political campaigns, allowing democracy advocates to coordinate and spread their messages of political change. However, the automated nature of news feeds makes it easy for political actors to manipulate these networks. Political campaigns have increasingly weaponized social media bots to spread large amounts of political content, often going undetected by their targets. This has been observed in countries like Russia and Brazil, and the tactics are spreading across the globe. The use of bots to amplify political messages undermines democratic processes by spreading fake news and divisive messages. With the prospect of more advanced AI bots that can better mimic human users, the challenge of detecting and mitigating their impact becomes even more pressing.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Social media platforms | Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Parler, Tinder |
| Country | Russia, Brazil, India, Moldova, Italy, Spain, US, UK |
| Political events | Arab Spring, 2016 US presidential election, 2011 Spanish presidential election, 2011 gubernatorial elections |
| Political parties | Left, center-left, center, center-right, right |
| Political figures | Trump, Hillary Clinton |
| Political issues | Living wage |
| Bots | Highly automated accounts, professional trolls, AI bots, neutral "drifter" bots |
| Hashtags | #TrumpPence, #LivingWage, #Hillary2016 |
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What You'll Learn
- Political campaigns using bots to push out large amounts of political content
- The difficulty of differentiating between human users and AI bots
- The use of bots to manipulate social media hashtags
- Bots spreading fake news and divisive messages
- The use of bots to attract new supporters on non-political platforms
Political campaigns using bots to push out large amounts of political content
Social media platforms have become a powerful tool for political campaigns, allowing them to reach a wide audience and spread their message. However, this has also led to the emergence of social media bots being used to push out large amounts of political content. These automated accounts, often referred to as "bots", are programmed to post and engage with content in a way that mimics human behaviour.
Research by the Oxford Internet Institute's Computational Propaganda Research Project found that about half of Twitter conversations originating in Russia involved highly automated accounts. These bots are used to disseminate vast amounts of political content and are so sophisticated that their targets are often unaware they are interacting with a piece of software. Similarly, in Brazil, bots have been aggressively employed during two presidential campaigns, a presidential impeachment campaign, and a mayoral race.
The use of bots can be tracked by monitoring the hashtags that both human users and bots use to tag their posts. Hashtags related to specific candidates, party affiliations, and campaign issues, such as #TrumpPence or #LivingWage, can help identify networks of automated accounts. However, this method has limitations, as new hashtags may emerge during a campaign that researchers are not aware of.
As technology advances, the prospect of AI-powered bots that more closely resemble human users becomes increasingly likely. This raises concerns about the spread of misinformation and the potential impact on democratic processes. The improvement of AI technology also makes it challenging to determine who or what is behind an online post.
The use of bots in political campaigns has been observed across multiple countries, and the tactics employed by these campaigns are spreading. Social media platforms provide a new structure for political conversations, and when they allow the proliferation of fake news and divisive messages, they can undermine democratic values.
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The difficulty of differentiating between human users and AI bots
Social media platforms have been weaponized by political campaigns, with bots being used to manipulate users. These bots are often so well-programmed that users are unable to distinguish them from humans. This issue is not limited to political campaigns, as it is also prevalent on online discussion forums like Reddit, where users have expressed concerns about differentiating between human users and AI bots.
One of the challenges in identifying bots is that they are constantly evolving and improving. Modern bots are designed to mimic human-like conversation styles, making it harder to detect them. They can generate lengthy responses with perfect grammar and syntax, lacking tone or context, which can be deceptive. Additionally, bots can be active 24/7 without any breaks, which may be a sign of automation.
However, there are some potential indicators that can help identify bots. These include analyzing the volume of activity, such as superhuman posting speeds, consistent activity without breaks, and a lack of errors or typos. Monitoring account activity can also be helpful, as new accounts with high activity levels or inactive accounts that suddenly become active may be suspicious.
While these indicators can provide clues, they are not definitive proof. To confirm the presence of bots, more advanced techniques like machine learning algorithms are required. The prospect of AI bots that closely mimic human users and resist detection is concerning and may become inevitable in the future.
The impact of bots on political campaigns and social media platforms highlights the importance of user awareness and the development of mechanisms to mitigate their influence. It is crucial for users to be cautious and critical of the information they encounter online, as bots can spread misinformation and manipulate public opinion.
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The use of bots to manipulate social media hashtags
One of the primary ways political campaigns utilize bots is by leveraging their ability to post content at an extraordinarily high volume. Unlike human users, who are limited by time and energy constraints, bots can generate thousands of posts per hour, flooding social media platforms with specific hashtags. This strategy helps to amplify the campaign's message, ensuring it reaches a wider audience and potentially shaping public discourse.
For example, during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, bots played a significant role in promoting certain hashtags such as #MAGA and #DrainTheSwamp in support of Donald Trump. Similarly, Trump bots outnumbered Clinton bots 5:1 in the week leading up to Election Day, with pro-Trump bots colonizing Clinton's hashtags, like #ImWithHer, to spread disinformation and confuse potential Clinton supporters.
In India, a similar tactic was employed ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Automated Twitter bot accounts boosted hashtags both in support of and opposition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, including #GoBackModi and #TNWelcomesModi. This strategy aimed to manipulate public opinion and influence the election outcome.
While the impact of these bot campaigns can be significant, it is worth noting that their effectiveness also depends on the number of followers these accounts have. In the Indian case, for instance, the pro-Modi and anti-Modi bot campaigns had a vast scale of activity, but their impact was mitigated by the low number of followers of these accounts.
To identify and counteract the manipulation of hashtags by bots, researchers suggest examining the hashtags used by both human users and bots. By tracking popular hashtags related to candidates' names, party affiliations, and campaign issues, it is possible to uncover networks of highly automated accounts. Additionally, rudimentary bot accounts can often be spotted using temporal, semantic, and network markers, such as posting frequency, content coherence, and network diversity.
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Bots spreading fake news and divisive messages
Social media platforms have become a powerful tool for political advocacy groups to coordinate themselves and spread their messages of political change. However, the automated nature of news feeds makes them vulnerable to manipulation by political actors. Research by the Oxford Internet Institute's Computational Propaganda Research Project found that about half of Twitter conversations originating in Russia involve highly automated accounts. These accounts, often well-programmed, are used to disseminate vast amounts of political content. Targets are usually unaware that they are interacting with a bot.
The use of bots to spread political content has been observed in Brazil, where they were used in two presidential campaigns, a presidential impeachment campaign, and a mayoral race. Similarly, Facebook posts from the Internet Research Agency were liked, shared, and followed by genuine users, allowing the posts to reach a wider audience. These accounts were designed to mimic real users and spread disinformation and divisive messages. Facebook eventually shut down these accounts, along with over 170 suspicious accounts on Instagram.
Bots have also been used to manipulate political conversations, boost visibility, and manufacture influence. For example, large groups of users working in coordination can follow each other en masse to inflate their follower counts and appear more authentic. They post and reply in high volumes to increase engagement metrics. This type of deception is coordinated and widespread, with "engagement farms" based in India and Nigeria gaming the system to manipulate conversations and influence public opinion.
To track political social media manipulation, researchers can analyze the hashtags used by both human users and bots. Hashtags related to candidates' names, party affiliations, and campaign issues can help identify networks of automated accounts. However, the challenge lies in predicting which hashtags will gain popularity, as conversations without popular hashtags may be missed. As social media platforms become the primary venue for political discourse, the spread of fake news and divisive messages through bots can undermine democratic processes and erode public trust.
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The use of bots to attract new supporters on non-political platforms
Political campaigns have increasingly turned to social media bots as tools for spreading political propaganda and manipulating public opinion. While social media platforms have empowered democracy advocates to coordinate and disseminate their calls for political change, the highly automated nature of news feeds also makes it easy for political actors to manipulate those same networks.
Bots are often built to look and act like real people, giving the impression of broad support for a particular issue or candidate. They can be programmed to post their own content, engage with human users, and even chat with targets who remain unaware that they are conversing with a piece of software. This was the case in Russia, where studies found that about half of Twitter conversations involved highly automated accounts pushing out vast amounts of political content.
In the context of attracting new supporters on non-political platforms, one notable example occurred in the UK in 2017. A group of young political activists utilized the dating app Tinder to engage with potential supporters. They created a chatbot that automated flirty exchanges with real people, which would eventually turn to discussions promoting the strengths of the Labour Party. The bot took over the Tinder profile of a Labour-friendly user and sent between 30,000 and 40,000 messages targeting young voters in constituencies where Labour candidates were in close races. While it is challenging to attribute specific votes to this campaign, the Labour Party did prevail by slim margins in several targeted districts.
This strategy of leveraging non-political platforms to reach new audiences demonstrates the adaptability of political campaigns in utilizing various tools to spread their message. By understanding the algorithms and user behavior on platforms like Tinder, activists were able to creatively harness the power of automation to engage with voters in an unexpected setting.
In addition to dating apps, other non-political platforms such as Wikipedia and Reddit have also been mentioned as sites where bots are used for political purposes. Wikiedits bots, for example, can monitor politicians' Wikipedia page edits and tweet about alleged changes. Sleeper bots are another type of bot that lies dormant for years, building a realistic online presence, before becoming activated during key political events. These examples illustrate the diverse tactics employed by campaigns to influence public opinion and attract supporters across a range of online platforms.
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Frequently asked questions
Political campaigns use social media bots to manipulate social networks by pushing out large amounts of political content. These bots are often well-programmed, making it difficult for targets to realize they are interacting with a piece of software.
In a study by the Oxford Internet Institute's Computational Propaganda Research Project, it was found that about half of Twitter conversations originating in Russia involved highly automated accounts. Additionally, bots were aggressively used in Brazil during two presidential campaigns and one presidential impeachment campaign.
One way to track political social media manipulation is to look at the hashtags used by both human users and bots. By analyzing the main hashtags that reference candidates' names, party affiliations, and campaign issues, we can identify networks of highly automated accounts.
The use of social media bots in political campaigns can undermine democratic processes by spreading fake news and divisive messages, and encouraging herd behavior. Additionally, the prospect of AI bots that mimic human users and resist detection raises concerns about the spread of disinformation and its impact on society.
