People enthusiastically share false rumors on Twitter, and it's not all the bots' fault. Previous research tracked rumors after specific events, like the false information that swirled around the Boston Marathon bombing. Politics got the most attention among true and false rumors, they discovered, representing 45,000 of the 126,000 cascades. The study authors said automated Twitter accounts, or bots, were not to blame for the faster spread of false rumors. Using techniques to identify bots, they determined that software-run accounts spread falsehoods and truths equally.

Source: Washington Post March 08, 2018 19:01 UTC