Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #lobsterfest
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Is astroturfing with HootSuite still a thing in April 2021? It sure looks that way - we found a network (or possibly two networks) using HootSuite for synchronized retweets, which the accounts then undo after a few hours. #Lobsterfest
cc: @ZellaQuixote
cc: @ZellaQuixote
First, here's a thread with some background on tweetdecking, the form of astroturfing this network engages in, which involves groups of accounts that retweet the same tweets at the same time, and then undo their retweets after the tweets go viral.
We found 28 accounts that appear to be using the Hootsuite app for astroturfing. We found two separate groups (each amplifying its own lineup of tweets), one consisting of 18 accounts and one consisting of 10 accounts. The larger group appears to undo their retweets more quickly.
Over in #TheMighty200 #MAGA retweet rooms, a report (consisting largely of recycled allegations and rumors) on Hunter Biden and Burisma issued by @SenRonJohnson and @ChuckGrassley is among today's hot topics.
cc: @ZellaQuixote
cc: @ZellaQuixote
We download the first few hours' worth of tweets containing "Hunter Biden", #HunterBiden, or Burisma following the report's release, yielding 196168 tweets from 72724 accounts. Traffic largely doesn't look automated.
We've previously observed that accounts that participate in #MAGA retweet rooms tend to have a lot of tweets/retweets with more retweets than likes. We can use this to estimate the amount of the Biden/Burisma traffic that came from accounts in these rooms.
#PelosiMustGo trended for several hours yesterday (September 1st, 2020). We downloaded recent tweets containing the hashtag as of ~8 PM PDT, yielding 44274 tweets from 26160 accounts. Very little of the traffic looks automated.
cc: @ZellaQuixote
cc: @ZellaQuixote
Yesterday's #PelosiMustGo trend appears to be inspired by surveillance video released by Fox News of Nancy Pelosi at a hair salon. This is, however, not the first time this hashtag has gotten traction.
#PelosiMustGo first achieved noticeable volume Feb 4 2020, thanks to #MAGA accounts outraged at Pelosi's destruction of her copy of Trump's SOTU speech. The hashtag first trended in July, due to a mix of #MAGA accounts and supporters of Pelosi's Dem challenger, @ShahidForChange.
We've seen tweets about recalling California governor @GavinNewsom flowing through #TheMighty200+ retweet rooms here and there over the last few days, and decided to give recall-related Twitter traffic a further look. #Lobsterfest
cc: @ZellaQuixote
cc: @ZellaQuixote
We downloaded the most recent week or so worth of tweets containing "recall Gavin", "recall Newsom", "recall @GavinNewsom", #RecallGavinNewsom (and variants), or linking to recallgavin2020(dot)com, yielding 19639 tweets from 12630 accounts.
Retweet network for tweets about recalling Gavin Newsom. Among the more interesting major participants are former acting DNI @RichardGrenell and former GOP congressional candidate @RealOmarNavarro.
We don't know Korean (and don't fully trust Google Translate) but it sure looks like this botnet is claiming to have a knack for picking winning lottery numbers. #SaturdaySpam
cc: @ZellaQuixote
cc: @ZellaQuixote
This botnet consists of eight accounts, all created on May 9th 2015. At first glance, they look extremely low volume, with the most active account having tweeted only 135 times in 5 years.
In reality, these bots are much spammier, tweeting every 10-12 minutes, or 120-144 times per day (varies from bot to bot). They keep up the appearance of low volume by deleting the most recent tweet every time they post a new one (with occasional failures). #Lobsterfest
It's a Tuesday, and a bunch of tweets pushing a poorly-explained @gatewaypundit conspiracy theory about Anthony Fauci, the price of remdesivir, and George Soros have received far more retweets than likes, a fingerprint of the #Mighty200+ #MAGA retweet rooms.
cc: @ZellaQuixote
cc: @ZellaQuixote
We downloaded tweets containing both "Fauci" and "remdesivir", yielding 7585 tweets from 6856 accounts. Very little of the traffic looks automated, which didn't really surprise us as we suspect the artificial amplification is coming from humans in DM rooms rather than bots.
Can we estimate how much of the Fauci/remdesivir traffic is from accounts in these rooms? We've previously observed that we can identify likely room members based on the presence of large numbers of tweets with more retweets than likes on their timelines.
One account we've seen promoted in #Mighty200+ #MAGA retweet rooms is @PatriotsInTune, linked to a YouTube channel featuring content ranging from readings of #QAnon tweets to interviews with GOP congressional candidates with fake Twitter followers. #Lobsterfest
cc: @ZellaQuixote
cc: @ZellaQuixote
We've previously noted that the tweets amplified by these #MAGA DM rooms often garner more retweets than likes, and so it is with many of @PatriotsInTune's tweets. We took a look at the 220 accounts that RT'd 10 such @PatriotsInTune tweets since June 1st.
Unsurprisingly, almost all of these 220 accounts (along with @PatriotsInTune itself) have a large number of tweets and retweets that have accumulated substantially more retweets than likes, indicating that they are likely being boosted by/participating in #MAGA retweet rooms.
We've observed that tweets amplified via #MAGA retweet rooms tend to get far more retweets than likes, and this propagandalicious @AFunnyValentine tweet looks like an example. We explored its network in search of other likely room participants. #Lobsterfest
cc: @ZellaQuixote
cc: @ZellaQuixote
First, here's a visual comparison between a control group of Twitter accounts and a set of accounts that we know were in a #Mighty200+ retweet room fairly recently. The retweet room accounts all have many tweets with more retweets than likes, while the control accounts do not.
Unsurprisingly, @AFunnyValentine fits the pattern, with hundreds of recent tweets/retweets with more retweets than likes. To find additional accounts in @AFunnyValentine's network, we checked the other accounts that retweeted at least 15 of these tweets for the same anomaly.
How is GOP congressional candidate @Barge4Congress (GA-14) getting hundreds of retweets with only 152 followers, and why do his tweets garner more retweets than likes? #TuesdayThoughts #Lobsterfest
cc: @ZellaQuixote
cc: @ZellaQuixote
Also, why is 96% of the amplification of a Georgia congressional candidate's tweets coming from accounts claiming a location other than Georgia? (Accounts with empty or fictional locations excluded.)
One possibility, and we think it's likely: #MAGA retweet DM rooms. In an interesting coincidence, 269 of 421 accounts (63.9%) that retweeted @Barge4Congress are mutual followers with one or both of the accounts recruiting members for #Mighty200+ retweet rooms.
We've been experimenting with ways to detect tweetdecking and similar forms of amplification involving coordinated temporary retweets. To this end, we've been monitoring retweets of a few accounts that get disproportionate retweets, including @jacobhueneke.
cc: @ZellaQuixote
cc: @ZellaQuixote
@jacobhueneke @ZellaQuixote We got an opportunity this morning to observe the early amplification of one of @jacobhueneke's tweets, and indeed 22 accounts retweeted it and then deleted the retweet a few minutes later. The amplification has been effective - 4 hours later, the tweet has over 6000 RTs.
@jacobhueneke @ZellaQuixote The @jacobhueneke tweet isn't the only tweet to be retweeted and deleted by this group of 23 accounts (the 22 that deleted their @jacobhuekene retweet plus @jacobhueneke.) Are the other retweets similarly coordinated?
