IBC: BBC Launches Corona Bot To Tackle Covid-19 Questions. “The Corona Bot will try to answer questions on these issues typed in by a user. It uses experimental AI technology to draw on the BBC News archives to respond with an answer to the specific question where possible. It will also redirect users to other services, such as the NHS, where necessary, while providing access to articles and broadcast content from BBC News.”
bots
Fast Company: This new Twitter bot has Asian front-line workers responding directly to COVID-19 racism
Fast Company: This new Twitter bot has Asian front-line workers responding directly to COVID-19 racism. “The First Responder Twitter Bot responds to COVID-19-inspired racist tweets with videos that aim both to educate the perpetrators and uplift Asian front-line workers. It also responds to those tweeting in support of Asians, with tips on how to be first responders to racism when you witness it in person.”
Researchers: Nearly Half Of Accounts Tweeting About Coronavirus Are Likely Bots (NPR)
NPR: Researchers: Nearly Half Of Accounts Tweeting About Coronavirus Are Likely Bots. “Nearly half of the Twitter accounts spreading messages on the social media platform about the coronavirus pandemic are likely bots, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University said Wednesday. Researchers culled through more than 200 million tweets discussing the virus since January and found that about 45% were sent by accounts that behave more like computerized robots than humans.”
EurekAlert: Who’s a bot and who’s not
EurekAlert: Who’s a bot and who’s not. “A new study in Frontiers in Physics has revealed the presence of short-term behavioral trends in humans that are absent in social media bots, providing an example of a ‘human signature’ on social media which could be leveraged to develop more sophisticated bot detection strategies. The research is the first study of its kind to apply user behavior over a social media session to the problem of bot detection.”
BloombergQuint: China’s Disinformation Campaign Targets Virus, Researcher Says
BloombergQuint: China’s Disinformation Campaign Targets Virus, Researcher Says. “An army of bot accounts linked to an alleged Chinese government-backed propaganda campaign is spreading disinformation on social media about coronavirus and other topics, including an exiled businessman, according to a London-based researcher. The accounts have been used to promote content attacking critics of the Chinese government and to spread conspiracy theories blaming the U.S. for the origins of virus, according to Benjamin Strick, who specializes in analyzing information operations on social media websites.”
Real Python: How to Make an Instagram Bot With Python and InstaPy
Real Python: How to Make an Instagram Bot With Python and InstaPy . “In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to build a bot with Python and InstaPy, a library by Tim Großmann which automates your Instagram activities so that you gain more followers and likes with minimal manual input. Along the way, you’ll learn about browser automation with Selenium and the Page Object Pattern, which together serve as the basis for InstaPy.”
