{"id":452121,"date":"2022-05-24T18:11:59","date_gmt":"2022-05-24T15:11:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/elon-musks-obsession-with-bots-will-do-nothing-to-stop-twitter-spam\/"},"modified":"2022-05-24T18:11:59","modified_gmt":"2022-05-24T15:11:59","slug":"elon-musks-obsession-with-bots-will-do-nothing-to-stop-twitter-spam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/elon-musks-obsession-with-bots-will-do-nothing-to-stop-twitter-spam\/","title":{"rendered":"#Elon Musk\u2019s obsession with bots will do nothing to stop Twitter spam"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3c88585e7c9\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3c88585e7c9\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/elon-musks-obsession-with-bots-will-do-nothing-to-stop-twitter-spam\/#%E2%80%9CElon_Musks_obsession_with_bots_will_do_nothing_to_stop_Twitter_spam%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Elon Musk\u2019s obsession with bots will do nothing to stop Twitter spam&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/elon-musks-obsession-with-bots-will-do-nothing-to-stop-twitter-spam\/#What_exactly_is_a_bot\" >What, exactly, is a bot?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/elon-musks-obsession-with-bots-will-do-nothing-to-stop-twitter-spam\/#Hard_to_count\" >Hard to count<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/elon-musks-obsession-with-bots-will-do-nothing-to-stop-twitter-spam\/#Missing_the_big_picture\" >Missing the big picture<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CElon_Musks_obsession_with_bots_will_do_nothing_to_stop_Twitter_spam%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Elon Musk\u2019s obsession with bots will do nothing to stop Twitter spam&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n                            <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/technology\/twitter-estimates-spam-fake-accounts-represent-less-than-5-users-filing-2022-05-02\/\">reports that fewer than 5% of accounts are fakes or spammers<\/a>, commonly referred to as \u201cbots.\u201d Since his offer to buy Twitter was accepted, Elon Musk has repeatedly questioned these estimates, even dismissing <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/paraga\/status\/1526237578843672576\">Chief Executive Officer Parag Agrawal\u2019s public response<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Later, Musk <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1526465624326782976\">put the deal on hold and demanded more proof<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>So why are people arguing about the percentage of bot accounts on Twitter?<\/p>\n<p>As the creators of <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/botometer.osome.iu.edu\/\">Botometer<\/a>, a widely used bot detection tool, our group at the Indiana University <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/osome.iu.edu\/\">Observatory on Social Media<\/a> has been studying inauthentic accounts and manipulation on social media for over a decade. We brought the concept of the \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cacm.acm.org\/magazines\/2016\/7\/204021-the-rise-of-social-bots\/fulltext\">social bot<\/a>\u201d to the foreground and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/aaai.org\/ocs\/index.php\/ICWSM\/ICWSM17\/paper\/view\/15587\">first estimated<\/a> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2017\/03\/10\/nearly-48-million-twitter-accounts-could-be-bots-says-study.html\">their prevalence<\/a> on Twitter in 2017.<\/p>\n<p>Based on our knowledge and experience, we believe that estimating the percentage of bots on Twitter has become a very difficult task, and debating the accuracy of the estimate might be missing the point. Here is why.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_exactly_is_a_bot\"><\/span>What, exactly, is a bot?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>To measure the prevalence of problematic accounts on Twitter, a clear definition of the targets is necessary. Common terms such as \u201cfake accounts,\u201d \u201cspam accounts\u201d and \u201cbots\u201d are used interchangeably, but they have different meanings. Fake or false accounts are those that impersonate people. Accounts that mass-produce unsolicited promotional content are defined as spammers. Bots, on the other hand, are accounts controlled in part by software; they may post content or carry out simple interactions, like retweeting, automatically.<\/p>\n<p>These types of accounts often overlap. For instance, you can create a bot that impersonates a human to post spam automatically. Such an account is simultaneously a bot, a spammer and a fake. But not every fake account is a bot or a spammer, and vice versa. Coming up with an estimate without a clear definition only yields misleading results.<\/p>\n<p>Defining and distinguishing account types can also inform proper interventions. Fake and spam accounts degrade the online environment and violate <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/help.twitter.com\/en\/rules-and-policies\/platform-manipulation\">platform policy<\/a>. Malicious bots are used to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41467-018-06930-7\">spread misinformation<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2018\/01\/27\/technology\/social-media-bots.html\">inflate popularity<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.1803470115\">exacerbate conflict through negative and inflammatory content<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ojs.aaai.org\/index.php\/ICWSM\/article\/view\/14127\">manipulate opinions<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0214210\">influence elections<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1109\/TCSS.2021.3059286\">conduct financial fraud<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/978-3-319-47874-6_19\">disrupt communication<\/a>. However, some bots can be harmless or even <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/21670811.2015.1081822\">useful<\/a>, for example by helping disseminate <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>, delivering disaster alerts and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41467-021-25738-6\">conducting research<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Simply banning all bots is not in the best interest of social media users.<\/p>\n<p>For simplicity, researchers use the term \u201cinauthentic accounts\u201d to refer to the collection of fake accounts, spammers and malicious bots. This is also the definition Twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ears to be using. However, it is unclear what Musk has in mind.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Hard_to_count\"><\/span>Hard to count<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Even when a consensus is reached on a definition, there are still technical challenges to estimating prevalence.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"align-center zoomable\">\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/464419\/original\/file-20220520-15-mt7my.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" alt=\"a network graph showing a circle composed of groups of colored dots with lines connecting some of the dots\" width=\"600\" height=\"337\" class=\"js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/464419\/original\/file-20220520-15-mt7my.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/464419\/original\/file-20220520-15-mt7my.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=337&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/464419\/original\/file-20220520-15-mt7my.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=337&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/464419\/original\/file-20220520-15-mt7my.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=337&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/464419\/original\/file-20220520-15-mt7my.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/464419\/original\/file-20220520-15-mt7my.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/464419\/original\/file-20220520-15-mt7my.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/464419\/original\/file-20220520-15-mt7my.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" alt=\"a network graph showing a circle composed of groups of colored dots with lines connecting some of the dots\" width=\"600\" height=\"337\" class=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/464419\/original\/file-20220520-15-mt7my.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=337&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/464419\/original\/file-20220520-15-mt7my.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=337&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/464419\/original\/file-20220520-15-mt7my.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=337&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/464419\/original\/file-20220520-15-mt7my.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/464419\/original\/file-20220520-15-mt7my.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/464419\/original\/file-20220520-15-mt7my.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.thenextweb.com%2Ftech%2F2022%2F05%2F24%2Felon-musks-obsession-bots-nothing-to-stop-spam%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: Networks of coordinated accounts spreading COVID-19 information from low-credibility sources on Twitter in 2020. Pik-Mai Hui\" data-title=\"Share Networks of coordinated accounts spreading COVID-19 information from low-credibility sources on Twitter in 2020. Pik-Mai Hui on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share Networks of coordinated accounts spreading COVID-19 information from low-credibility sources on Twitter in 2020. Pik-Mai Hui on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>Networks of coordinated accounts spreading COVID-19 information from low-credibility sources on Twitter in 2020. Pik-Mai Hui<\/figcaption><\/figure><figcaption><span class=\"attribution\"><span class=\"source\"\/><\/span><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>External researchers do not have access to the same data as Twitter, such as IP addresses and phone numbers. This <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.37016\/mr-2020-49\">hinders the public\u2019s ability<\/a> to identify inauthentic accounts. But even Twitter acknowledges that the actual number of inauthentic accounts <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/investor.twitterinc.com\/financial-information\/annual-reports\/default.aspx\">could be higher than it has estimated<\/a>, because <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/paraga\/status\/1526237581419040768\">detection is challenging<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Inauthentic accounts evolve and develop new tactics to evade detection. For example, some fake accounts <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/conspirator0\/status\/1502772800146313223\">use AI-generated faces as their profiles<\/a>. These faces can be indistinguishable from real ones, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.2120481119\">even to humans<\/a>. Identifying such accounts is hard and requires new technologies.<\/p>\n<p>Another difficulty is posed by <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ojs.aaai.org\/index.php\/ICWSM\/article\/view\/18075\">coordinated accounts<\/a> that appear to be normal individually but act so similarly to each other that they are almost certainly controlled by a single entity. Yet they are like needles in the haystack of hundreds of millions of daily tweets.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, inauthentic accounts can evade detection by techniques like <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ojs.aaai.org\/index.php\/ICWSM\/article\/view\/18075\">swapping handles<\/a> or automatically <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/2203.13893\">posting and deleting<\/a> large volumes of content.<\/p>\n<p>The distinction between inauthentic and genuine accounts gets more and more blurry. Accounts can be hacked, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2018\/01\/27\/technology\/social-media-bots.html\">bought or rented<\/a>, and some users \u201cdonate\u201d their credentials to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/turning-point-teens-disinformation-trump\/2020\/09\/15\/c84091ae-f20a-11ea-b796-2dd09962649c_story.html\">organizations<\/a> who post on their behalf. As a result, so-called <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/economy\/as-a-conservative-twitter-user-sleeps-his-account-is-hard-at-work\/2017\/02\/05\/18d5a532-df31-11e6-918c-99ede3c8cafa_story.html\">\u201ccyborg\u201d accounts<\/a> are controlled by both algorithms and humans. Similarly, spammers sometimes post legitimate content to obscure their activity.<\/p>\n<p>We have observed a broad spectrum of behaviors mixing the characteristics of bots and people. Estimating the prevalence of inauthentic accounts requires applying a simplistic binary classification: authentic or inauthentic account. No matter where the line is drawn, mistakes are inevitable.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Missing_the_big_picture\"><\/span>Missing the big picture<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The focus of the recent debate on estimating the number of Twitter bots oversimplifies the issue and misses the point of quantifying the harm of online abuse and manipulation by inauthentic accounts.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-featured_img wp-image-1387353 js-lazy\" alt=\"Screenshot of the BotAmp application comparing likely bot activity around two topics on Twitter. Kaicheng Yang\" width=\"796\" height=\"335\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 796px) 100vw, 796px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/05\/Screenshot-2022-05-24-at-16.22.01-796x335.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/05\/Screenshot-2022-05-24-at-16.22.01-796x335.png 796w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/05\/Screenshot-2022-05-24-at-16.22.01-280x118.png 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/05\/Screenshot-2022-05-24-at-16.22.01-270x114.png 270w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/05\/Screenshot-2022-05-24-at-16.22.01-540x227.png 540w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/05\/Screenshot-2022-05-24-at-16.22.01-1536x646.png 1536w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/05\/Screenshot-2022-05-24-at-16.22.01-1592x670.png 1592w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/05\/Screenshot-2022-05-24-at-16.22.01.png 1640w\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.thenextweb.com%2Ftech%2F2022%2F05%2F24%2Felon-musks-obsession-bots-nothing-to-stop-spam%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: Screenshot of the BotAmp application comparing likely bot activity around two topics on Twitter.Kaicheng Yang\" data-title=\"Share Screenshot of the BotAmp application comparing likely bot activity around two topics on Twitter.Kaicheng Yang on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share Screenshot of the BotAmp application comparing likely bot activity around two topics on Twitter.Kaicheng Yang on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>Screenshot of the BotAmp application comparing likely bot activity around two topics on Twitter.<br \/>Kaicheng Yang<\/figcaption><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-featured_img wp-image-1387353\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/05\/Screenshot-2022-05-24-at-16.22.01-796x335.png\" alt=\"Screenshot of the BotAmp application comparing likely bot activity around two topics on Twitter. Kaicheng Yang\" width=\"796\" height=\"335\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/05\/Screenshot-2022-05-24-at-16.22.01-796x335.png 796w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/05\/Screenshot-2022-05-24-at-16.22.01-280x118.png 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/05\/Screenshot-2022-05-24-at-16.22.01-270x114.png 270w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/05\/Screenshot-2022-05-24-at-16.22.01-540x227.png 540w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/05\/Screenshot-2022-05-24-at-16.22.01-1536x646.png 1536w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/05\/Screenshot-2022-05-24-at-16.22.01-1592x670.png 1592w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/05\/Screenshot-2022-05-24-at-16.22.01.png 1640w\"\/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<p>Recent evidence suggests that inauthentic accounts might not be the only culprits responsible for the spread of misinformation, hate speech, polarization and radicalization. These issues typically involve many human users. For instance, our analysis shows that <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/20539517211013861\">misinformation about COVID-19 was disseminated overtly<\/a> on both Twitter and Facebook by verified, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/how-rfk-jr-built-anti-vaccine-juggernaut-amid-covid-4997be1bcf591fe8b7f1f90d16c9321e\">high-profile accounts<\/a>.Through <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/botometer.osome.iu.edu\/botamp\">BotAmp<\/a>, a new tool from the Botometer family that anyone with a Twitter account can use, we have found that the presence of automated activity is not evenly distributed. For instance, the discussion about cryptocurrencies tends to show more bot activity than the discussion about cats. Therefore, whether the overall prevalence is 5% or 20% makes little difference to individual users; their experiences with these accounts depend on whom they follow and the topics they care about.<\/p>\n<p>Even if it were possible to precisely estimate the prevalence of inauthentic accounts, this would do little to solve these problems. A meaningful first step would be to acknowledge the complex nature of these issues. This will help social media platforms and policymakers develop meaningful responses.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" class=\"js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/183425\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\"\/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/183425\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" class=\"\" srcset=\"\"\/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p><em>Article by <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/kai-cheng-yang-1346978\">Kai-Cheng Yang<\/a>, Doctoral Student in Informatics, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/indiana-university-1368\">Indiana University<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/filippo-menczer-317794\">Filippo Menczer<\/a>, Professor of Informatics and Computer <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Science<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/indiana-university-1368\">Indiana University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>This article is republished from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/how-many-bots-are-on-twitter-the-question-is-difficult-to-answer-and-misses-the-point-183425\">original article<\/a>.<\/em>\n                        <\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/elon-musks-obsession-bots-nothing-to-stop-spam\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Elon Musk\u2019s obsession with bots will do nothing to stop Twitter spam&#8221; Twitter reports that fewer than 5% of accounts are fakes or spammers, commonly referred to as \u201cbots.\u201d Since his offer to buy Twitter was accepted, Elon Musk has repeatedly questioned these estimates, even dismissing Chief Executive Officer Parag Agrawal\u2019s public response. 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