SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
EXPLORE +
  • About infoDOCKET
  • Academic Libraries on LJ
  • Research on LJ
  • News on LJ
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Libraries
    • Academic Libraries
    • Government Libraries
    • National Libraries
    • Public Libraries
  • Companies (Publishers/Vendors)
    • EBSCO
    • Elsevier
    • Ex Libris
    • Frontiers
    • Gale
    • PLOS
    • Scholastic
  • New Resources
    • Dashboards
    • Data Files
    • Digital Collections
    • Digital Preservation
    • Interactive Tools
    • Maps
    • Other
    • Podcasts
    • Productivity
  • New Research
    • Conference Presentations
    • Journal Articles
    • Lecture
    • New Issue
    • Reports
  • Topics
    • Archives & Special Collections
    • Associations & Organizations
    • Awards
    • Funding
    • Interviews
    • Jobs
    • Management & Leadership
    • News
    • Patrons & Users
    • Preservation
    • Profiles
    • Publishing
    • Roundup
    • Scholarly Communications
      • Open Access

November 20, 2018 by Gary Price

New Research Article: Twitter Bots Played Disproportionate Role Spreading Misinformation During 2016 Election

November 20, 2018 by Gary Price

From Indiana University:

An analysis of information shared on Twitter during the 2016 U.S. presidential election has found that automated accounts — or “bots” — played a disproportionate role in spreading misinformation online.
The study, conducted by Indiana University researchers and published today in the journal Nature Communications,” analyzed 14 million messages and 400,000 articles shared on Twitter between May 2016 and March 2017 — a period that spans the end of the 2016 presidential primaries and the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20, 2017.
2018-11-22_10-29-03Among the findings: A mere 6 percent of Twitter accounts that the study identified as bots were enough to spread 31 percent of the “low-credibility” information on the network. These accounts were also responsible for 34 percent of all articles shared from “low-credibility” sources.
The study also found that bots played a major role promoting low-credibility content in the first few moments before a story goes viral.
The brief length of this time — two to 10 seconds — highlights the challenges of countering the spread of misinformation online. Similar issues are seen in other complex environments like the stock market, where serious problems can arise in mere moments due to the impact of high-frequency trading.
“This study finds that bots significantly contribute to the spread of misinformation online — as well as shows how quickly these messages can spread,” said Filippo Menczer, a professor in the IU School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering, who led the study.
[Clip]
To explore election messages currently shared on Twitter, Menczer’s research group has also recently launched a tool to measure “Bot Electioneering Volume.” Created by IU Ph.D. students, the program displays the level of bot activity around specific election-related conversations, as well as the topics, user names and hashtags they’re currently pushing.

Learn More, Read the Complete Publication Announcement
Direct to Full Text Research Article Discussed Above: The Spread of Low-Credibility Content by Social Bots (via Nature Communications)

From the Abstract:

The massive spread of digital misinformation has been identified as a major threat to democracies. Communication, cognitive, social, and computer scientists are studying the complex causes for the viral diffusion of misinformation, while online platforms are beginning to deploy countermeasures. Little systematic, data-based evidence has been published to guide these efforts. Here we analyze 14 million messages spreading 400 thousand articles on Twitter during ten months in 2016 and 2017. We find evidence that social bots played a disproportionate role in spreading articles from low-credibility sources. Bots amplify such content in the early spreading moments, before an article goes viral. They also target users with many followers through replies and mentions. Humans are vulnerable to this manipulation, resharing content posted by bots. Successful low-credibility sources are heavily supported by social bots. These results suggest that curbing social bots may be an effective strategy for mitigating the spread of online misinformation.

See Also: Hoaxy and Other Online Research Tools from the Observatory on Social Media (OSoMe) at Indiana University

Filed under: Data Files, News, Patrons and Users

SHARE:

About Gary Price

Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com. Gary is also the co-founder of infoDJ an innovation research consultancy supporting corporate product and business model teams with just-in-time fact and insight finding.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Job Zone

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Infodocket Posts

Judge Issues Opinion in Hachette Book Group, Et Al v. Internet Archive, Et Al; Plaintiffs Motion For Summary...

We Will Be Updating this Post with Media Reports, Statements, Analysis, etc. as they Become Available Posts/Statements From the the Internet Archive Blog Post:  “The Fight Continues”   We will ...

Journal Article: "The Case of the Disappearing Librarians: Analyzing Documentation of Librarians' Contributions to Systematic Reviews"

The article linked below was published today by the Journal of the Medical Library Association (JMLA). Title The Case of the Disappearing Librarians: Analyzing Documentation of Librarians’ Contributions to Systematic ...

Podcast: The Open Research Knowledge Graph, A Conversation with Vinodh Ilangovan and Jennifer D'Souza

A new Access 2 Perspectives podcast is now online. The conversation is hosted by Dr. Jo Havemann. From the Podcast Description Vinodh Ilangovan and Jennifer D’Souza work on the Open Research ...

AI Tools Are Generating Convincing Misinformation. Engaging With Them Means Being on High Alert; Report From Fully OA...

AI Tools Are Generating Convincing Misinformation. Engaging with Them Means Being on High Alert (via The Conversation) Guests at the Next DPLA Open Board + Community Meeting (April 10, 2023) ...

American Library Association Reports Record Number of Demands to Censor Library Books and Materials in 2022: Book Challenges...

From the American Library Association: The American Library Association (ALA) today released new data documenting* 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022, the highest number of attempted book ...

Penn State University Libraries: Expanded Judy Chicago Research Portal Relaunches With Five Unified Collections

From a PSU Libraries Blog Post: Penn State University Libraries has announced the relaunch of an expanded Judy Chicago Research Portal, a searchable gateway to the archives of this prominent feminist ...

Two Ebook Bill Hearings; New Digital Collections From South Africa, India, Nepal and Georgia Now Available Online From...

Clarivate Announces Gordon Samson as President, Intellectual Property and Nominates Dr. Saurabh Saha as New Independent Director Here Come the First ChatGPT Plugins (via OpenAI); More via TechCrunch Illinois House ...

Registration Now Open -- May 24-26 Nobel Prize Summit on Misinformation and Trust in Science (In-Person & Virtual)

From the U.S. National Academy of Science: Registration is now open for the Nobel Prize Summit Truth, Trust and Hope — which will convene Nobel Prize laureates and other world-renowned experts and ...

Report: "Top Missouri Lawmaker Moves To Strip Library Funding"

From the Associated Press (AP):  A powerful Missouri state lawmaker on Tuesday moved to strip state funding for public libraries over a fight about books. Republican House Budget Committee Chairman ...

European Research Council (ERC) Study Identifies Repositories That Allow Researchers to Comply With EU Open Science Rules

From the ERC: A new study identifies repositories for data and publications that could help ERC grantees, as well as beneficiaries of other Horizon Europe grants, comply with EU open ...

Nearly 20 Hindawi Journals Delisted From Leading Index Amid Concerns of Papermill Activity & More News Headlines

Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts (CCAHA) and Lyrasis Announce Succession Planning Initiative for Collections Stewardship Nearly 20 Hindawi Journals Delisted From Leading Index Amid Concerns of Papermill Activity ...

Houston Chronicle: "As Book Bans Ebb, the Battle to Criminally Charge Texas Librarians Has Started"

From the Houston Chronicle: Politically and socially conservative, Texas is a national leader in school book challenges and bans; a Chronicle investigation last summer counted more than 2,000 content reviews of challenged school library ...

ADVERTISEMENT

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

Tweets by infoDOCKET

ADVERTISEMENT

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • Programs+
  • Design
  • Leadership
  • People
  • COVID-19
  • Advocacy
  • Opinion
  • INFOdocket
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Booklists
  • Prepub Alert
  • Book Pulse
  • Media
  • Readers' Advisory
  • Self-Published Books
  • Review Submissions
  • Review for LJ

Awards

  • Library of the Year
  • Librarian of the Year
  • Movers & Shakers 2022
  • Paralibrarian of the Year
  • Best Small Library
  • Marketer of the Year
  • All Awards Guidelines
  • Community Impact Prize

Resources

  • LJ Index/Star Libraries
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies

Events & PD

  • Online Courses
  • In-Person Events
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Submit Features/News
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Careers at MSI


© 2023 Library Journal. All rights reserved.


© 2022 Library Journal. All rights reserved.