Many of them plug false cures, peddle conspiracy theories and clamour for countries to drop safety measures in order to re-open
Carley’s team identified more than 100 inaccurate narratives about COVID-19, and scores of conspiracy theories. Those conversations also included a push to re-open America. Carley said in a video lecture last month that hate speech is growing in the social media debate about COVID-19, and it’s “forming hate communities.”
The team looked at several factors to determine what likely constituted a bot, such as “tweeting more frequently than is humanly possible or appearing to be in one country and then another a few hours later,” she said. “When we see a whole bunch of tweets at the same time or back to back, it’s like they’re timed,” Carley said. “We also look for use of the same exact hashtag, or messaging that appears to be copied and pasted from one bot to the next.”
Researchers have been seeing “up to two times as much bot activity as we’d predicted based on previous natural disasters, crises and elections,” said Carley.Jevin West, who runs the Center for an Informed Public at the University of Washington,that the “real goal” of COVID-19 disinformation campaigns is “about creating distrust in the overall ecosystem and institutions. It’s not so much about picking a side as it is about creating confusion and doubt and distrust of authority.
For a deeper dive in what Carley’s team is doing, check out the video below based on research gathered through early April:What you need to know
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