Tag: Bots

We often read about groups of international Twitter bots and trolls after they’ve been suspended, making it hard to grasp the scope of the global botnets.

Those who run fake Twitter accounts have been developing their strategy for years. Thus, the sophistication of these accounts would surprise most people.

Knowing that Russia is still actively attacking us via cyber-war, I have to wonder how Twitter’s fancy algorithms haven’t removed these fake Russian accounts.

Bots and trolls often use accounts they’ve purchased or hacked. For this reason, social media platforms should delete dormant accounts.

Bot creators try to individualize their bot accounts to make them seem more realistic, including giving them occupations such as nurse, doctor, and surgeon.

Some accounts that distribute Twitter bots are following hundreds (sometimes thousands) of locked bot and troll accounts in a row.

It’s the irony of all ironies. Twitter is infested with fake Facebook accounts. Some of the accounts are impersonators and all appear to be scammers.

fake Twitter account groups have distinct, discernible patterns. And those patterns are their Achilles’ Heel.

States like New York and Florida have begun to take a hard look at the social media marketing companies that profit from selling fake accounts.

The variety of fake military Twitter accounts is as astounding as it is endless. And many of them serve to amplify political rhetoric (on all sides).

One of the few commonalities between fake political and fake commercial accounts is that both are a practice in deception.

Twitter bots quick-change to suit the purpose of the bot creators. How does Twitter, with its fancy algorithms, miss this type of activity on the platform?

There are endless Twitter accounts using Publisher’s Clearing house in their profile descriptions. Are they impostor accounts or commercial bots?

While some of the fake Russian accounts are created and then remain stagnant for a period, the Russian Bot Hostesses are much more active.

Mysteriously, Twitter has avoided much of the scrutiny Facebook has faced—even though Twitter has committed similar data-privacy abuses.

Twitter props up white supremacist rhetoric by not penalizing it and by allowing fake accounts to amplify it.

One of the psychological tricks used by fake Twitter accounts is an appeal to sympathy. Hospital bots are a clear example of this.

Twitter’s model bots flood the platform. Once you know their faces, they can be identified visually. Here are 18 model bots we see frequently.