Almost a third of pro-Donald Trump tweets around the first US presidential debate were not sent by humans but by online bots compared to just over a fifth of pro-Hillary Clinton posts, a new Oxford University study says.
The Press Trust of India (PTI) reports that more than four times as many tweets were made by automated accounts in favour of Republican candidate Trump around the first US presidential debate on Sept 26 as by those backing his Democratic rival Clinton, the BBC reported on the eve of the third and final encounter between the two in Las Vegas, as quoted by PTI.
The bots exaggerated support for the 70-year-old Republican presidential hopeful, the study suggests, but Trump would still have won a higher number of supportive tweets even if they had not.
The authors warn such software has the capacity to "manipulate public opinion" and "muddy political issues".
The investigation was led by Prof Philip Howard, from the University of Oxford, and is part of a wider project exploring "computational propaganda".
It covered tweets posted on Sept 26, the day of the first debate, plus the three days afterwards, and relied on popular hashtags linked to the event.
The results suggested that 32.7 per cent of such pro-Trump tweets had been posted by bots and 22.3 per cent of such pro-Clinton ones.
In total, that represented a total of 576,178 tweets benefiting the Republican nominee and 136,639 in support of the Democratic one.
"On the balance of probabilities, if you pulled out a heavily automated account the odds are four to one that you'll find it's a bot tweeting in favour of Trump," Howard said.
There is no suggestion, however, that bots were generated by either of the official Presidential campaign groups, the report said.
Looking wider - to accounts that tweeted neutral hashtags or a mix of different kinds - the study suggested that 23 per cent of all the tweets were driven by bots. -- BERNAMA
Bernama
Wed Oct 19 2016
The results suggested that 32.7 per cent of such pro-Trump tweets had been posted by bots and 22.3 per cent of such pro-Clinton ones. - Filepic
Ziyad rangkul emas kejohanan dunia di Jepun
Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli menjuarai acara lontar peluru lelaki F20 di (kecacatan intelektual) Kejohanan Olahraga Para Dunia 2024 di Jepun.
Pihak berkuasa Jepun halang pemandangan Gunung Fuji
Pihak berkuasa Jepun memasang penghadang pemandangan Gunung Fuji pada Selasa untuk mengatasi peningkatan pelancong asing yang mengganggu ketenteraman awam di kawasan sekitar.
Suntikan vaksin Papilomavirus kepada 719,236 pelajar perempuan
KKM berikan suntikan vaksin Papilomavirus manusia (HPV) kepada 719,236 pelajar perempuan terdiri daripada kohort 2021 hingga tahun ini.
[TERKINI] Penumpang pesawat SIA meninggal dunia dalam pesawat
Seorang penumpang pesawat Singapore Airlines (SIA) dilaporkan maut dalam kejadian gelora udara ketika dalam perjalanan dari London (Heathrow) ke Singapura pada Selasa.
Yakin RUU355 akan dapat undi majoriti mudah - Hadi
Presiden PAS, Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang yakin Rang Undang-undang Akta Mahkamah Syariah (Bidang Kuasa Jenayah) 1965 (RUU 355) akan mendapat undian majoriti mudah dalam sidang parlimen akan datang.
Rakyat Malaysia bimbang penipuan pembayaran
Firma perisian Analitik Global, FICO, dalam penyelidikan terbaharunya mendedahkan bahawa 32 peratus rakyat Malaysia paling bimbang ditipu dalam hal berkaitan pembayaran.
Suspek buang bayi dipercayai warga asing
Suspek buang bayi di pangsapuri di Pantai Dalam dipercayai bukan penduduk kawasan perumahan.
[INFOGRAFIK] Keluaran Dalam Negeri Kasar (KDNK) ST1 2024
Berikut adalah sedikit infografik berkenaan KDNK ST1 2024. Sila klik video untuk berita selanjutnya.
Ibu bapa bayi naik motosikal ucap terima kasih kepada PM
Pasangan suami isteri yang menaiki motosikal sambil membawa bayi berusia 11 bulan yang tular di media sosial dalam keadaan memakai alat bantuan pernafasan berterima kasih selepas mendapat bantuan.
Projek mitigasi banjir kilat Puchong dijangka siap akhir tahun ini
Projek mitigasi banjir kilat di kawasan Puchong yang menelan belanja lebih RM5 juta dijangka siap menjelang hujung tahun ini.