What makes a bot a bot? Exploring benign automation on Twitter

Detail of follow network with automation probabilities represented by colour from blue (0) to red (1).

Abstract

We present a study on bot detection and its interpretation by assessing the different types of automation that one of the most popular methods for bot detection, Botometer (https://botometer.iuni.iu.edu/), detects. The study is based on the first project to assess the prevalence, influence, and roles of automated accounts in a Twitter follow network on a national scale: the German-speaking Twittersphere. This work in progress allows us to analyse the long-term structural role, impact, and possible audience of bots beyond the context of single events and topics.

Date
Nov 7, 2019 4:30 PM — 4:50 PM
Location
Umspannwerk Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany
Ohlauer Str. 43, Berlin, Berlin 10999

References

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Varol, O., Ferrara, E., Davis, C. A., Menczer, F., & Flammini, A. (2017). Online Human-Bot Interactions: Detection, Estimation, and Characterization. International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media. Retrieved from https://aaai.org/ocs/index.php/ICWSM/ICWSM17/paper/view/15587/14817