Huge network of fake Twitter accounts found – digi.en

British scientists have stumbled across a huge network of fake Twitter accounts, writes the BBC.

most of the accounts are so-called bots – computer-generated and automated accounts that, for example, spreading spam, cheat with the number of followers on other Twitter accounts, or influence which topics on Twitter are called “trending” – and who thus can get a greater interest among Twitter users.

Total there should be talk of as much as 350 000 accounts, of around 315 million Twitter accounts in total.

Pay bots to follow or influence public opinion

the BBC writes that botkontoene remotely controlled by someone who can get the bots to send messages or perform other activities. For example, some people can pay for to get the bots to follow their own Twitter account, or to draw the attention away from conversations about controversial topics or affect what people think.

– It is difficult to assess how many Twitter users are bots, says Juan Echeverria, who is a student and researcher at the University College of London (UCL). He came across the fake accounts while he analyzed a sample of 1 per cent of Twitter users, in order to better find out how people used the social network.

Echeverria and his team discovered when a large number of accounts that were linked together, and things suggest that it is a person or group operating the botnet.

Star Wars quotes

Many of the fake accounts tweeting from places where there are no living people, and all messages are seemingly posted from Windows-phones – despite the fact that Windows phones have a relatively small market share. Another special thing was that the Twitter messages from those fake accounts almost always contained quotes from Star Wars.

A spokesperson from Twitter said to the BBC that they do not allow fake accounts, and that they do not allow users to create software that automatically follow or of-follow accounts.

– Although we have systems and tools to detect spam on Twitter, so we base ourselves also on the that users report spam to us, ” says talspersonen.

the Whole report on the so-called Star Wars-the botnet can be found here.