Social Media Bots: How Dangerous Are They?

• Social media platform Twitter is a popular playground for bots, with up to 12% of its active users being fake automated accounts.
• Despite the platform’s prohibition against using bots, Elon Musk recently raised eyebrows by endorsing an ex-crypto entrepreneur accused of selling bot services and artificially inflating engagement on his tweets.
• As a result, genuine Twitter users must be aware and wary of the dangers posed by social media bots.

Social Media Bots on Twitter

More than half of the world uses social media platforms, and Twitter is one of the main meeting points for the global crypto community. But it is also a popular playground for bots – fake automated accounts that intentionally target genuine platform users. Despite Twitter’s ban on using such accounts, research shows that nearly 12% of daily active users are in fact bots.

The Danger Posed By Social Media Bots

Twitter claims to serve public conversation freely and safely, prohibiting behavior intended to “artificially amplify or suppress information or engage in behavior that manipulates or disrupts people’s experience” – such as through the use of bots. However, owner Elon Musk has recently sent mixed messages about his attitude towards them – including by endorsing controversial ex-crypto entrepreneur Mario Nawfal who is suspected of selling bot services to artificially inflate engagements. Researchers have calculated that more than 65% of Nawfal’s content engagements were artificial and falsely inflated.

The Impact On Genuine Users

As a result, genuine Twitter users must be aware and wary of the dangers posed by social media bots: these can manipulate conversations and mislead people into believing false information or investing in fraudulent projects. In addition to this risk posed by malicious actors, there is also potential financial damage created when legitimate companies pay for bot-created engagement on their tweets; this can lead to wasted money with no tangible results achieved in return.

Twitter’s Response To Bot Activity

In response to growing concerns around bot activity, Twitter has taken action over recent days aimed at making its platform great place for everyone; this includes limiting how many tweets users can see in order to fight against content scraping bots. While this demonstrates that Twitter takes user safety seriously, it remains challenging for it police an open platform with 368 million active monthly users – especially considering Musk’s mixed messages about his attitudes towards bots on the platform itself suggest he may not take such action as seriously as he should do so himself .

Conclusion

Overall, while social media bots remain a reality on platforms like Twitter , genuine users must be vigilant about their presence and potential risks they pose; taking steps such as independently researching any project before investing in it can help protect you from becoming a victim of malicious activities conducted via these automated accounts .