News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Massive networks of fake accounts found on Twitter by startupdiscuss on Friday January 27, 2017 @03:48PM (#13502534)
If you want another angle on the story, consider non-bot bots. (aka "sock puppets")

You have an argument with someone on twitter and the next second 4 or 5 newly formed eggs with 1 follower apiece pile in to defend the other POV, sometimes without regard to civility.

It could be a coincidence.

Or it could be that the person you were debating let their ID out in another way.

Edit: Just to be clear, I was talking about the Freudian "Id" in all caps, used these days as a short-hand for a sort of unfiltered emotional inner child, and not "I.D." which is short for identification.

Re:Massive networks of fake accounts found on Twitter by jashkenas on Friday January 27, 2017 @03:53PM (#13502568)
There are certainly a great many interesting angles ;)

For a neat paper that actually has some nice hard evidence about what government production of social posts can look like, check out Gary King and co. at Harvard's exploration of Zhanggong, China:

http://gking.harvard.edu/files/gking/files/50c.pdf

We summarized it here: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/20/business/international/ch...

Re:Massive networks of fake accounts found on Twitter by eternalban on Saturday January 28, 2017 @12:08AM (#13505033)
https://arxiv.org/pdf/1402.5644v1.pdf

"China". To think I used to actually pay for your paper in my errant youth! :)

Re:Massive networks of fake accounts found on Twitter by DanBC on Friday January 27, 2017 @04:00PM (#13502615)
Re:Massive networks of fake accounts found on Twitter by jessewmc on Friday January 27, 2017 @11:11PM (#13504863)
Tangent, but the Freudian id is usually rendered in all lowercase, and your meaning would be much clearer that way.