Bots, elections, and social media: a brief overview

TL;DR

This paper provides an overview of social media bots used during major political events, analyzing their characteristics and activities in recent elections to understand their role in manipulation and deception.

Contribution

It offers a summarized analysis of bot operations during key elections, highlighting their characteristics and influence in political contexts.

Findings

Bots were actively used to influence public opinion during elections.

The study identified common patterns and tactics employed by political bots.

Bots contributed to misinformation and polarization around election periods.

Abstract

Bots, software-controlled accounts that operate on social media, have been used to manipulate and deceive. We studied the characteristics and activity of bots around major political events, including elections in various countries. In this chapter, we summarize our findings of bot operations in the context of the 2016 and 2018 US Presidential and Midterm elections and the 2017 French Presidential election.