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First Evidence That Social Bots Play a Major Role in Spreading Fake News

Overview

"Automated accounts are being programmed to spread fake news, according to the first systematic study of the way online misinformation spreads."

Why is this important?

This article highlights the importance of online bots in the propagation of weaponized narrative. The authors write: "Fake news and the way it spreads on social media is emerging as one of the great threats to modern society. In recent times, fake news has been used to manipulate stock markets, make people choose dangerous health-care options, and manipulate elections, including last year’s presidential election in the U.S."

Creator

Emerging Technology from the arXiv

Publication Date

August 7, 2017