Russia-linked internet bots trying to make the world an angrier place

When a big contentious story breaks, chances are hundreds of Russia-linked bots and trolls will soon be tweeting about it. It's not just the US that bots are interested in Analysis of automated Twitter accounts and those linked to Russian influence campaigns show how they use daily news events to act on the Kremlin's reported desire to promote disharmony abroad. The most popular links being shared direct people to: Fox News star Sean Hannity's page ; Conservative news and conspiracy sites and blogs; Articles on Facebook and Russian social media platform VK; Russian state media RT and Sputnik; A story by German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle on Syria; Video streaming site Periscope Topical news events are solid fodder for bots At the same time as they were posting about Twitter's crackdown, bots were busy tweeting about the Syria conflict, the death of US preacher Billy Graham, UK Parliament's Prime Minister's Question Time, Brexit, and Mr Trump's meeting with students and parents involved in the Florida school shooting that killed 17 people. A 37-page indictment charging three Russian companies and 13 individuals by US special counsel investigating Russian influence in US politics outlines how operatives sought to escalate tensions in the days after Mr Trump's election by promoting pro- and anti-Trump rallies. In the final two weeks of January, Hamilton 68 analysis found the top links shared by "Kremlin-oriented" Twitter accounts were about "deep state" efforts to bring down and undermine Mr Trump and attacks on the credibility of the FBI, Department of Justice and, predictably, Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.