The Conversation

Mon Nov 5

Even a few bots can shift public opinion in big ways

Written by Tauhid Zaman, Associate Professor of Operations Management, MIT Sloan School of Management

Adding bots into an online discussion can definitely affect the views of real people.Tatiana Shepeleva/Shutterstock.com

Nearly two-thirds of the social media bots with political activity on Twitter before the 2016 U.S. presidential election supported Donald Trump. But all those Trump bots were far less effective at shifting people’s opinions...

Even a few bots can shift public opinion in big ways

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