
Cyborgs, trolls and bots: A guide to online misinformation
Associated PressNEW YORK — Cyborgs, trolls and bots can fill the internet with lies and half-truths. “You can get a lot from a bot, but maybe it’s not the best quality,” said Emilio Ferrara, a data science researcher at the University of Southern California who co-wrote the study on Twitter bots. “We have 12 ways that we spot a bot, and if we hit seven or eight of them we have pretty high confidence,” said Graham Brookie, director of the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that studies connections between social media, cybersecurity and government. And yet, “It was a little grandma, who said, ‘This is me!’” Their prevalence and the difficulty of identifying them has made bots into a kind of digital bogeyman and transformed the term into an insult, used to dismiss other social media users with different opinions. “But you don’t have to have special software to make these simpler ones.” Researchers who study Americans’ changing media habits recommend that people turn to a variety of sources and perspectives for their news, use critical thinking when evaluating information on social media, and think twice about reposting viral claims.
History of this topic

Celebrities hit back at social media trolls with defamation suits to safeguard their reputations
Live Mint
X to label parody accounts resembling celebrities to combat impersonation
India TV News
After Trump's victory, U.S. election falsehoods shift left
Raw Story
Elon Musk spreading misinformation online? His own AI model Grok says ‘yes’
Hindustan Times
‘Chaos and confusion’: Microsoft braces for foreign election interference in days ahead
Politico
A baseless voting claim is being amplified by a network of social media accounts
NPR
U.S. Accuses Russia Of Spreading Disinformation Ahead Of Presidential Election
Huff Post
China-linked ‘Spamouflage’ network mimics Americans online to sway US political debate
Associated Press
China is pushing divisive political messages online using fake U.S. voters
NPR
US intel reveals Russia plans to meddle in 2024 election
The Independent
Dutch intelligence services help dismantle Russian troll farms
Dutch News
Dutch intelligence services help dismantle Russian troll farms
Dutch News
US claims to bust ‘Russian bot farm’ spreading propaganda on X
The Independent
US disrupts Russian government-backed disinformation campaign that relied on AI technology
Associated Press
U.S. says Russian bot farm used AI to impersonate Americans
NPR
US DOJ says it disrupted Russian social media influence operation
Al Jazeera
Ten bot-like X accounts having ‘oversized influence’ on General Election
The Independent
Faking an honest woman: Why Russia, China and Big Tech all use faux females to get clicks
Associated Press
Fake news on social media is the problem we’re all ignoring – trust me, I worked for Twitter
The Independent
The 'Sift' strategy: A four-step method for spotting misinformation
BBC
Anonymous users are dominating right-wing discussions online. They also spread false information
Associated Press
Anonymous users dominate right-wing discussions online and spread false information
LA Times
Experts warn of AI's impact on 2024 US election as deepfakes go mainstream and social media guardrails fade
ABC
The year of social media soul-searching: Twitter dies, X and Threads are born and AI gets personal
Associated Press
Thousands of fake Facebook accounts shut down by Meta were primed to polarize voters ahead of 2024
Associated Press
‘Rage-baiting’ leftist Twitter account is probably fake, expert says
The Independent
Twitter Warned By EU Over Disinformation, Favouring Russia Agenda
ABP News
Thousands Of Pro-Trump Bots Are Attacking Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley
Huff Post
Thousands of pro-Trump bots are attacking DeSantis and Haley on Twitter
LA Times
Thousands of pro-Trump bots are attacking DeSantis, Haley
Associated Press
Some top Instagram influencers found to be using Russian bots to boost reach
The Hindu
EU calls out Twitter for incomplete disinformation report
Associated Press
Opinion: Fake News Is Traveling Faster Than True Stories
Huff Post
Fake Trump, Bush, Tesla storm Twitter after verification dropped
Al Jazeera
Twitter slow to act on misleading U.S. election content, experts say
The Hindu
U.S. President Joe Biden says Twitter spews lies across the world
The Hindu
Suspected Russian trolls use political cartoons to denigrate Democratic candidates as midterms approach
CNN
BBC tries to understand politics by creating fake Americans
The Independent
Social media platforms have done ‘half-measures’ to root out election disinformation
LA Times
Experts: Russia finding new ways to spread propaganda videos
The Independent
Facebook takes down Russian network impersonating European news outlets
NPR
Social media firms are prepping for the midterms. Experts say it may not be enough
NPR
Meta, Twitter bust ‘deceptive’ pro-US influence campaign: report
Al Jazeera
Elon Musk vs Twitter saga: With court battle in offing, a look at possible outcomes
Firstpost
Musk abandons $44 billion Twitter deal, company vows legal fight
Firstpost
Elon Musk deal ‘in danger’: Here’s what Twitter is doing to save it
Live Mint
Twitter removes 1 million 'spam accounts' each day
India TV News
Twitter deletes 1 million fake accounts every day, execs reveal
The Independent
Twitter launches new misinformation policy ahead of Elon Musk’s ‘free speech’ takeover
The Independent
Twitter’s new crisis misinformation policy: All you need to know
Al JazeeraDiscover Related









































