The Yang Gang and Its Bots
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The Yang Gang and Its Bots
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Re: The Yang Gang and Its Bots
#2Theorem: 100% of these articles talking about "bots" on twitter are bullshit. None have any evidence, yet we're supposed to be impressed because ... muh plots. Nobody has any idea how many "bots" are following Trump or Yang or anybody else.
Re: The Yang Gang and Its Bots
#3I'm surprised Twitter isn't doing more about political bots, since they've banned political ad dollars.
On the other hand, if they banned an account and it turned out to be a real person, they could get some first amendment lawsuits.
Re: The Yang Gang and Its Bots
#4It’s terrifying how cheap and easy it is to masquerade as hundreds of thousands to millions of people on social media using automation, and how little social media companies are doing to stop it.
Regardless of the numbers, the stress it’s placing on discourse is devastating, and there seem to be few serious, market-driven solutions to this problem.
The growth-at-all-costs mentality has put companies like Twitter in a position where they must choose between profits and responsible community development and moderation. It’s clear which path they’ve chosen.
Re: The Yang Gang and Its Bots
#5I'm surprised Twitter isn't doing more about political bots, since they've banned political ad dollars. On the other hand, if they banned an account and it turned out to be a real person, they could get some first amendment lawsuits.
I wish the local elementary school would do something about the yang gangers who draw lengthy screeds in shoepolish on the side of their van and park it in front of the doors every day. There's a rule against political ads on the property, but apparently not against cars parking there.
I like a lot of Yang's proposals. I just wish the enthusiasm of his supporters could be a little more... judiciously focused?
Re: The Yang Gang and Its Bots
#6I'm surprised Twitter isn't doing more about political bots, since they've banned political ad dollars. On the other hand, if they banned an account and it turned out to be a real person, they could get some first amendment lawsuits.
> On the other hand, if they banned an account and it turned out to be a real person, they could get some first amendment lawsuits.
Access to post on Twitter is not a 1st Amendment right!
Re: The Yang Gang and Its Bots
#7If any journalists are writing about this in a serious capacity, contact me. I will trade info :)
Re: The Yang Gang and Its Bots
#8That's a lot of narrative overlaid on the data. The author even says this about Democratic politician accounts:
> All of them had bot activity of some kind. Given enough time to collect the data, bot networks would eventually appear for all of them.
I think the analysis could be very interesting but they're injecting too much personal spin on the motivations of everyone involved. Why is the teenager who follows the Yang bots and MAGA bots "sad"? Is there a corollary teenager following Democrat bots? Are they sad too?
I think it would be interesting to study bots and how they intersect with media and politics in a less biased manner.
Re: The Yang Gang and Its Bots
#9I'm surprised Twitter isn't doing more about political bots, since they've banned political ad dollars. On the other hand, if they banned an account and it turned out to be a real person, they could get some first amendment lawsuits.
> On the other hand, if they banned an account and it turned out to be a real person, they could get some first amendment lawsuits. Access to post on Twitter is not a 1st Amendment right!
Some Senator who's name I can't recall was arguing otherwise. He said something to the affect of, if social media companies, or websites in general want protection under the law from content generated by their users, then they should not be able to dictate what their users can and cannot post barring illegal content.
It's an interesting argument regardless of what you believe, but certainly your first amendment rights don't currently extend to Twitter.
Re: The Yang Gang and Its Bots
#10I'm surprised Twitter isn't doing more about political bots, since they've banned political ad dollars. On the other hand, if they banned an account and it turned out to be a real person, they could get some first amendment lawsuits.
They're loving it though. Bots push something to trending, real people end up talking and sharing like crazy. Their KPIs since this last election must be insane.