A Network of Bots

As social media networks have grown and allowed people to connect digitally, measures like ‘Friends’ lists and follower counts have become visual representations of the vast networks each individual is a part of. However, among the “friend” and “follow” requests from real life acquaintances, there are accounts mimicking authentic, human accounts, attempting to infiltrate and pollute our networks. These are known as bots, and they can range from harmless fake follower bots to aggressive troll and roadblock bots.

In a recent article, “Did You Know There Are Billions of Social Media Bots Designed to Mimic Humans? Here’s How to Spot Them,” Mohammed Dahiru Lawal defines bots as “automated social media accounts which pose as real people.” Lawal cites research regarding the heavy prevalence of bots on social media and gives context for their varying purposes on the platforms. 

As mentioned in the title of the article, there have been found to be billions of bot accounts on social media platforms currently. Bots form groups of bots, creating their own networks of bots. They are created by programs that set up their intentions and missions. One of which is to follow accounts that are already growing. In this way, it is sort of like the rich-get-richer principle. These bots target accounts with higher followings, giving them an even higher follow count. 

In a 2018 study from University of Southern California, researchers found that “bots are responsible for as many as two-thirds of all tweets that link to popular websites”–another example of how they may contribute to a rich-get-richer effect.

Other bots, like roadblock and troll bots, set out to infiltrate comment sections and skew debates. There can be many bots programmed to tackle the same comment section, account, or hashtag. This is interesting when considering information cascades and herding. Bots can influence human thought and behavior. They can create echo chambers and instigate extremities.

The article mentions that Facebook removed approximately 3 billion bots over the span of 6 months, but the rate at which they can be created suggests that they are an enduring part of our networks. 

Article link: https://dubawa.org/did-you-know-there-are-billions-of-social-media-bots-designed-to-mimic-humans-heres-how-to-spot-them/