TechCrunch: Bots on Twitter share two-thirds of links to popular websites: Pew . “It’s official: Bots are doing a lot of PR grunt work on Twitter — especially when it comes to promoting porn websites. That perhaps unsurprising conclusion about what automated Twitter accounts are link sharing comes courtesy of a new study by the Pew Research Center which set out to quantify one aspect of bot-based activity in the Twittersphere.”
bots
Poynter: With money from Facebook, this Brazilian fact-checker created a Messenger bot for the election
Poynter: With money from Facebook, this Brazilian fact-checker created a Messenger bot for the election. “Six months ahead of the Brazilian election, one fact-checker is using support from Facebook to better reach its readers. The project, called ‘Projeto Lupe!’, allows people to ask for verified information on everything from candidate statements to viral fake news stories — all by sending Agência Lupa a message on Facebook, which has about 125 million monthly users in Brazil.”
Bloomberg: California Would Require Twitter, Facebook to Disclose Bots
Bloomberg: California Would Require Twitter, Facebook to Disclose Bots. “California has proposed legislation that would require social platforms like Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. to identify automated accounts, or bots, amid a push by state lawmakers to police the technology companies that have proven vulnerable to manipulation and the spread of fake news.”
Chatbots in museums: hype or opportunity? (Museums and the Web)
Museums and the Web: Chatbots in museums: hype or opportunity? . “Chatbots have caught the headlines recently with businesses starting to adopt them to stimulate conversation with customers. But what are chatbots? How do they work? What can they do for museums and their audiences?”
Phnom Penh Post: Twitter bots begin following Southeast Asian opinion-makers
Phnom Penh Post: Twitter bots begin following Southeast Asian opinion-makers. “Many journalists, academics and political figures across Southeast Asia have gained hundreds of new Twitter followers that appear to be bot accounts in the past week, including some with ties to Cambodia. The accounts were created last month and have since followed hundreds of Twitter users, but most have not tweeted or accrued any followers themselves. They began appearing in large numbers late last week.”
Medium: When Bots Attack
Medium: When Bots Attack. “Unless you’ve been living under a rock, chances are you’ve read The New York Times’ investigative report, ‘The Follower Factory.’ The piece takes a deep dive into buying fake/bot Twitter followers. I, too, have some experience with fake/bot Twitter followers. I have a story. I have some data.”
The Next Web: Study shows social media echo chambers might actually be a good thing
The Next Web: Study shows social media echo chambers might actually be a good thing. “A group of researchers, as part of a social experiment, paid liberals and conservatives on Twitter to follow a bot for a month that tweeted political views from the other side. Shockingly, rather than softening their own views or learning to understand the opposition, most participants dug in deeper. We’re not partisan out of ignorance, it seems, but because we fundamentally disagree.”
