Two-Thirds of Tweeted Links Come From Bots, Report Says (cnet.com)

We already know bots have a significant presence on Twitter. But a report published Monday by the Pew Research Center suggests automated accounts are more prevalent than we may previously have thought. From a report: Pew estimates that two-thirds, or about 66 percent, of the links shared on Twitter come from bots rather than people. The research specifically focused on the 2,315 most popular websites and over 1 million tweets sent between July 27 and Sept. 11, 2017.

Comments

Re:Not suprising.

[GrumpySteen]

Nah. There are lots of famous people who don't post nudes who have tons of followers. Obama, for example, has 102 million followers and I'm quite sure he's never posted nudes.

the math never did pass cursory review.

[nimbius]

twitter, youtube and facebook all suffer the same malaise: cooking the books when it comes to interactivity numbers. Likes, subscribes, and similar artifacts of user interaction have no incentive to be properly vetted by either consumers or the platforms owner. For example: Fandango doesnt need you questioning the number of absurdly high likes for the upcoming Marvel trailer because that number drives revenue for them outside the platform. more likes means more user interest, a better chance to arrive on the front page of youtube, and in turn more hype generated by editors and content managers on other sites as they visit Youtube for their daily meme fix. Content management and talent management agencies that handle big names like Pewdiepie, Markiplier and similar artists dont need you questioning their half-billion member subscription count either, as the carefully curated presence on Youtube of these celebrities translates directly to the salaries of numerous behind-the-scenes studio workers in Hollywood.

but the sword cuts on both edges. Industries that have slept through nearly 20 years of fake currency in the way of likes/tweets/subscribes have no purchase when they suddenly turn around and decry fake news and the outcome of popular opinion that was driven by their broken system.