On Twitter, a Battle Among Political Bots
On social media, our political battles are increasingly automated.
People who head to Twitter to discuss their ideals are, often unwittingly, conversing with legions of bots: accounts preprogrammed to spew the same campaign slogans, insults or conspiracy theories hundreds or thousands of times a day. And one of their most competitive battlegrounds is the prime digital real estate that opens up every time President-elect Donald J. Trump tweets. Any supporters or critics who reply quickly enough to Mr. Trump can see their own tweets showcased right beneath the biggest spectacle on Twitter. But in this fast-draw contest, propaganda bots always best human beings.
Recently, I noticed a different kind of bot clawing to the top of Mr. Trump’s Twitter replies. It’s called @EveryTrumpDonor, and every couple of hours it tweets about the Americans who donated to Mr. Trump’s campaign — who they are, where they’re from, what they do, all from public Federal Election Commission data. People sucked into its timeline aren’t always sure if it’s a tool for shaming Mr. Trump’s supporters or a celebration of the folks who contributed to his victory. Either way, the bot reminds us of the real people behind the Twitter brigades. Unlike the typical Twitter bot, it fights disinformation with actual facts.