One man who appears to like to chat to bots is US Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump. According to TwitterAudit, one in four of Donald Trump’s Twitter followers is a bot, while the numbers for the Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton are quite similar.
#TwitterAudit report on the number of fake followers for @realDonaldTrump and @HillaryClinton #bots pic.twitter.com/hT9gTIgvvW
— Sputnik UK (@SputnikNewsUK) May 18, 2016
fake bots, put out there to distract us, try to discourage us, and bump up his numbers. slimy politics from a fraud https://t.co/HbsCHOQk1R
— Susan EX-GOP (@suziferg0806) May 3, 2016
A team of researchers who specialize in bot chat and their poisonous political posturing online told Wired that politicians, government agencies and advocacy groups have used bots to engage votes with their automated rhetoric.
"We've caught bots disseminating lies, attacking people, and poisoning conversations," says Wired, which warns of the dangers of automated campaign communications.
As Wired explains, while Trump was busy alienating the Latino electorate with his comments about Mexicans, bots impersonated Latino voters using names like Pepe and Francisco, tweeting their support for Trump after his victory in the Nevada caucuses.
I'm just going to leave this here. pic.twitter.com/CxACIIt6RC
— Jade Helm Commander (@Anomaly100) November 23, 2015
"We need more transparency about where bots are coming from, and we need it now, or bots could unduly influence the 2016 [US] election," Wired said.
#Tourette's
It's often suggested that if you have nothing nice to say – don't say anything at all — but not if you're a bot with a bee in its computer-programed bonnet.
According to Wired, "Bots now pollute conversations around topics like #blacklivesmatter and #guncontrol," spouting their fake hate.
But that’s enough about the bot.
The more power it has – the bigger the potential a bot has to misuse it – and with so few guidelines governing social media-led election campaigns in the US, Donald Trump's bots are being heard.
