Let’s talk about bots, baby

Hello newsletter readers,   After the second Democratic debate this week, a viral exchange between Tulsi Gabbard and Kamala Harris resulted in a trending Twitter hashtag: #kamalaharrisdestroyed. Its popularity led to baseless speculation that trolls and bots were behind it (maybe even Russian ones!). This happens so often now that we spoke to Sam Wooley, a disinformation researcher at IFTF, to better understand why blaming bots and Russia for a trending hashtag without evidence is inaccurate and counterproductive.  How significant is a trending hashtag?  "Manipulating a hashtag in the trending section is not easy," Wooley said. "It takes a lot of resources. It has to be a highly organized campaign to boost a hashtag into existence. "If the computers or the bots are yelling into the ether, nothing happens, it doesn't matter." Should we be worried about bots manipulating hashtags?  Twitter has known about attempts to manipulate trending hashtags for years and have introduced measures to fight it. Wooley said that a lot of what Twitter has done is working, but battling bots is a game of cat and mouse. A bigger concern is cyborg accounts, which combine real human activity with automated posting.  If there are bots, trolls, or cyborgs trying to manipulate a trending hashtag, can we find out who's doing it?  Tracing an anonymous account to a country of origin or an individual is extremely difficult for anyone who doesn't have access to specialized tools.  "An integral function of the internet is that you're anonymous," Wooley said, and state actors know how to cover their tracks. Whether it's Russia or one of the many other countries that spread digital propaganda, it's almost impossible to tell who a bot belongs to without in-depth research. Even Twitter, which has more data about hashtags than anyone, is very cautious about attributing account to a specific country.  So how should we think about disinformation ahead of 2020? "Russian bots have become an easy scapegoat and the term bot has become conflated with any kind of disinformation or any kind of content that you don't like," Wooley said.  Instead, Wooley says we should rely on scientists and experts who have been studying disinformation for years.   —Jane Lytvynenko Got a tip? Email us: fakenewsletter@buzzfeed.com or find us on Twitter: @craigsilverman and @janelytv. Want to communicate with us securely? Here's how: tips.buzzfeed.com NEW FROM OUR TEAM:  Dead links on reputable websites like the New York Times, BBC, and CNN, are for sale  What to do if the older people in your life are sharing extreme conten Google banned a major Chinese app developer after we reported on their disruptive ad techniques  We found out who runs one of the oldest Conservative outlets online  New partisan players are invading Canadians' Facebook feeds A new racist campaign is taking shape against Kamala Harris and two of the people who spread it are Michigan Montessori school operators JANE'S RECOMMENDED READS Facebook took down accounts associated with a disinformation operation from Saudi Arabia. Read the Bellingcat report that uncovered them. (Also, listen to Bellingcat's incredible podcast about the downing of MH17.)  Kotaku tells a wild story about people getting scammed into working for a gaming company that does not exist.  Meduza has an incredible story of a Russian policeman who spied for the CIA and got sentenced to 13 years in prison for treason   CRAIG'S RECOMMENDED READS Motherboard has a deep look at the Americans who set up "phone farms" to earn money by committing ad fraud. This Guardian investigation revealed that a PR firm connected to Britain's new prime minister controls a network of Facebook pages that masquerade as news and activist operations.  This New York Times story about the romance scammers of Facebook has a tragic twist, and helps show the incredible toll this scheme takes on its victims. P.S. If you like this newsletter, help keep our reporting free for all. Support BuzzFeed News by becoming a member here. (monthly memberships are available worldwide) 💌 Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up to get The Fake Newsletter in your inbox! Show privacy notice and cookie policy. BuzzFeed, Inc. 111 E. 18th St. New York, NY 10003 Unsubscribe