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During the election there was a sudden surge of pro-Boris Johnson Facebook comments which looked like Russian bots.
I interviewed some of the commenters. They were British pranksters: https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-50218615 https://twitter.com/jdpoc/status/1252510122414399488
I interviewed some of the commenters. They were British pranksters: https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-50218615 https://twitter.com/jdpoc/status/1252510122414399488
It was 'inauthentic behaviour', but not Russian bots, but ordinary Brits winding up their opponents
A screensbot of this tweet went viral back in November as evidence of a nefarious Russian bot campaign.
I verified Dan's identity and he told me "I am not a bot - it was just a satirical comment"
I verified Dan's identity and he told me "I am not a bot - it was just a satirical comment"
With @mariannaspring & @mwendling I reported on last year's 'digital election', digging online, and interviewing people around the UK.
Our overwhelming takeaway: ordinary Brits, not nefarious plots, are overwhelmingly the source of online political havoc. https://twitter.com/josephmdurso/status/1208058091327098880
Our overwhelming takeaway: ordinary Brits, not nefarious plots, are overwhelmingly the source of online political havoc. https://twitter.com/josephmdurso/status/1208058091327098880
Foreign interference, sinister government plots... these are real things that have happened around the world, and we should all be vigiliant.
But it's generally less likely than a few people taking the piss, so think carefully before RTing stuff that confirms your biases.
But it's generally less likely than a few people taking the piss, so think carefully before RTing stuff that confirms your biases.
