Ever walk in on a conversation and have absolutely no idea what’s going on? #WhyIsPartOfTheConversationInHexidecimal
cc: @ZellaQuixote
cc: @ZellaQuixote
@ZellaQuixote Unsurprisingly, the four accounts featured in the previous tweet (@RaptorBurger, @juicedonjoe, @sarcasmsue, and @JanetBones3) appear to be bots. Can we find more?
@ZellaQuixote @RaptorBurger @juicedonjoe @sarcasmsue @JanetBones3 Almost all recent tweets from these bots contain a 32-digit hexidecimal number, generally accompanied by a fragment of a quote or the text “pushNext twitter conversation.” The numbers appear mostly random, other than the 13th digit (always 4) and the 17th (9, 8, A, or B.)
@ZellaQuixote @RaptorBurger @juicedonjoe @sarcasmsue @JanetBones3 Reply network for the 24 bots in question, based on the most recent 3200 tweets from each. We may not understand what the factual duck they’re talking about, but the conversation flows in many directions; each bot account interacts with multiple others.
@ZellaQuixote @RaptorBurger @juicedonjoe @sarcasmsue @JanetBones3 Some of these accounts have been around for years. By analyzing replies/mentions over time, we found 110 automated or mostly-automated accounts that we believe participated in one or more incarnations of this botnet, with @wlp1979test kicking things off.
@ZellaQuixote @RaptorBurger @juicedonjoe @sarcasmsue @JanetBones3 @wlp1979test Reply network for the entire botnet over time. The accounts form multiple clusters, reflecting the fact that at different periods of time different subsets have been active and interacting. Recent activity is concentrated in the dense cluster near the bottom.
@ZellaQuixote @RaptorBurger @juicedonjoe @sarcasmsue @JanetBones3 @wlp1979test The content posted by this botnet has evolved over time. Early tweets appear to be tests, which morph over time into something resembling the mysterious hexidecimal-laced tweeting the accounts engage in today.
@ZellaQuixote @RaptorBurger @juicedonjoe @sarcasmsue @JanetBones3 @wlp1979test H/T @radiokaos666 for the lead.
