Twitter Bots Active in All African Votes Since 2017, Study Finds
- Fake accounts made up a quarter of influential Kenyan voices
- Politicians weren’t the main drivers of Twitter conversations
Photographer: Jaap Arriens/Getty Images
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Twitter bots, or software that sends out automated posts, were active in each of the 10 elections held across Africa in the past year, according to a study by Portland Communications.
“Across all elections, bots served primarily to agitate, pushing negative narratives about major issues, candidates, and perceived electoral abnormalities,” according to findings of the study released Wednesday by the London-based communications agency.