,
6 tweets,
2 min read
Read on Twitter
ML: This account has a probability of 30% to be a bot.
Me: The Account is active 24/7. It tweets at least two times per hour. Most of the tweets are posted through an app that nobody else uses. It claims to be a bot.
But it's not fully automated and something is suspicious. /1
Me: The Account is active 24/7. It tweets at least two times per hour. Most of the tweets are posted through an app that nobody else uses. It claims to be a bot.
But it's not fully automated and something is suspicious. /1
When you only look at the Tweets through the allegedly bot interface, there is a wake-sleep pattern in addition to the 24/7 activity. Obviously in a different time zone than me. Probably America.
That pattern matches the wake-sleep pattern of the account when used manually. /2
That pattern matches the wake-sleep pattern of the account when used manually. /2
I assume that the automated interface is manually fed or additionally triggered. Could be for testing, could be to disguise human work as the one of a bot. /3
The account got my attention because people assume that the author created some mashups intentionally.
The Tweet in question was posted in question was posted in the regular rhythm (every half hour) though. It's still possible that they just use a queue.
The Tweet in question was posted in question was posted in the regular rhythm (every half hour) though. It's still possible that they just use a queue.
Exchanged some messages with the author of the bot. They don't use a queue. It's just a cron job.
Anomalies in Tweet pattern stem from problems with the script.
They will publish a graphical explanation how the bot works soon.
Anomalies in Tweet pattern stem from problems with the script.
They will publish a graphical explanation how the bot works soon.
Here is the explanation of the bot author how it works.
