Social media bots are fake accounts that use automated or semi-automated programming to infiltrate platforms and shape how humans behave online. Why Are Social Media Bots Used? Groups or individuals create social media bots for a number of purposes. Either way, social media bots can be a serious problem — particularly because social media users are often unable to distinguish between them and accounts operated by real people. In fact, the European Commission launched its Action Plan Against Disinformation in 2018, specifically, to address social media bots as a technique to “spread and amplify divisive content and debates on social media” and disseminate dis- and misinformation.

Source: Washington Post July 25, 2022 23:59 UTC