publication . Article . Other literature type . 2017

The Brexit Botnet and User-Generated Hyperpartisan News

Bastos, M. T.; Mercea, D.;
Open Access
  • Published: 10 Oct 2017
  • Country: United Kingdom
Abstract
In this paper we uncover a network of Twitterbots comprising 13,493 accounts that tweeted the U.K. E.U. membership referendum, only to disappear from Twitter shortly after the ballot. We compare active users to this set of political bots with respect to temporal tweeting behavior, the size and speed of retweet cascades, and the composition of their retweet cascades (user-to-bot vs. bot-to-bot) to evidence strategies for bot deployment. Our results move forward the analysis of political bots by showing that Twitterbots can be effective at rapidly generating small to medium-sized cascades; that the retweeted content comprises user-generated hyperpartisan news, whi...
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doi: 10.1177/0894439317734157 , 10.2139/ssrn.3034051
Subjects
free text keywords: Brexit, Twitter, Fake news, Sockpuppets, Retweets cascades, Political bots, Computer security, computer.software_genre, computer, Botnet, Brexit, Computer science, General Social Sciences, Law, Library and Information Sciences, Computer Science Applications, Fake news, Ballot, World Wide Web, JN, JN101, PN, QA75
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Abokhodair, N., Yoo, D., & McDonald, D. W. (2015). Dissecting a Social Botnet: Growth, Content and Influence in Twitter. Paper presented at the 18th ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing, Vancouver, BC, Canada. [OpenAIRE]

Asenbaum, H. (2016). Cyborg activism: Exploring the reconfigurations of democratic subjectivity in Anonymous. New Media & Society, 0(0), 1461444817699994. doi: doi:10.1177/1461444817699994

Asthana, A., Quinn, B., & Mason, R. (2016). UK votes to leave EU after dramatic night divides nation The Guardian. Retrieved from

Related research
Abstract
In this paper we uncover a network of Twitterbots comprising 13,493 accounts that tweeted the U.K. E.U. membership referendum, only to disappear from Twitter shortly after the ballot. We compare active users to this set of political bots with respect to temporal tweeting behavior, the size and speed of retweet cascades, and the composition of their retweet cascades (user-to-bot vs. bot-to-bot) to evidence strategies for bot deployment. Our results move forward the analysis of political bots by showing that Twitterbots can be effective at rapidly generating small to medium-sized cascades; that the retweeted content comprises user-generated hyperpartisan news, whi...
Read more
doi: 10.1177/0894439317734157 , 10.2139/ssrn.3034051
Subjects
free text keywords: Brexit, Twitter, Fake news, Sockpuppets, Retweets cascades, Political bots, Computer security, computer.software_genre, computer, Botnet, Brexit, Computer science, General Social Sciences, Law, Library and Information Sciences, Computer Science Applications, Fake news, Ballot, World Wide Web, JN, JN101, PN, QA75
Related Organizations
Download fromView all 5 versions
ZENODO
Article . 2017
Provider: ZENODO
SSRN Electronic Journal
Article
Provider: UnpayWall
Social Science Computer Review
Article
Provider: UnpayWall
City Research Online
Article . 2017
Provider: CORE (RIOXX-UK Aggregator)
View more

Abokhodair, N., Yoo, D., & McDonald, D. W. (2015). Dissecting a Social Botnet: Growth, Content and Influence in Twitter. Paper presented at the 18th ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing, Vancouver, BC, Canada. [OpenAIRE]

Asenbaum, H. (2016). Cyborg activism: Exploring the reconfigurations of democratic subjectivity in Anonymous. New Media & Society, 0(0), 1461444817699994. doi: doi:10.1177/1461444817699994

Asthana, A., Quinn, B., & Mason, R. (2016). UK votes to leave EU after dramatic night divides nation The Guardian. Retrieved from

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publication . Article . Other literature type . 2017

The Brexit Botnet and User-Generated Hyperpartisan News

Bastos, M. T.; Mercea, D.;

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