AFP: 'Sleeper agent' bots on X fuel US election misinformation, study says

[Dennis Donovan]

AFP - 'Sleeper agent' bots on X fuel US election misinformation, study says

Anuj CHOPRA

Wed, October 9, 2024
6:43 PM EDT



Hundreds of apparent pro-Russian bot accounts on X are pushing US election misinformation and amplifying false narratives about Democratic contender Kamala Harris, a research group said Thursday, calling them "sleeper agents" for having evaded detection for years.

The findings by the Washington-based American Sunlight Project (ASP) demonstrate how bot-like activity plagues X, previously called Twitter, despite pledges by billionaire owner Elon Musk to crack down on the digital manipulation.

ASP analyzed nearly 1,200 accounts, a long-standing network that generated more than 100 million posts as of July, including pro-Kremlin propaganda, content favoring Republican nominee Donald Trump, and misinformation about Harris's campaign.

The accounts, some of which have escaped detection and moderation on the site for as long as 15 years, retweeted such content within seconds of its posting, indicating bot activity, the group said in a report shared with AFP ahead of its public release.

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[kimbutgar]

1. The website mediaite has so many trolls in the comment section

And you know they are Russian and not English speaking because of the grammatical errors they make in their comments.

My husband likes to read the troll comments but I pass!