Thread by @thomasafine

A lot of people don't seem to understand how social media manipulation works.

So let me try to explain.

"Never read the comments section".

Social media is built on the premise that NOBODY follows this advice. Social media is basically nothing but the comments section.

And so whenever we see a tweet that's interesting, we can't help ourselves - we want to see how other people have reacted to it.

And when we do this, we are swayed by what we find. We can't help it. We have no choice. We are the most hypersocial animal on the planet, and nothing matters to us more than opinions of peers. They shape our behavior at a fundamental level.

So if we dive into the comments expecting to find support for a tweet, but find mocking or derision or opposing ideas instead (or probably all of the above), it has an impact.

Maybe that impact is to introduce self-doubt: what if all these people are right?

Maybe that impact is to introduce hopelessness: I had no idea so many people felt this way.

The job of social media manipulation then is simple: change the emotional landscape of the responses we see when we look at tweets.

But wait, you say, this isn't so simple. Twitter is vast, there's a vast number of people and conversations, and how could trolls or bots every have a meaningful impact.

Well, they have a lot of advantages that most people don't think of.

First, professionals can tweet non-stop. One person can easily run twenty or thirty accounts with no more automation than tweetdeck.

And trust me, they have way more automation than just tweetdeck.

Second, that automation. Some accounts are fully automated. Some are fully hand-run. But most are a mix. One person writes a tweet, and then an AI an reword it and tweet it out across a hundred accounts.

Third, there's more than you think. The Internet Research Agency is not the only troll farm in Russia. I've been saying this for years. Mueller said it in the Mueller report.

And today, there's more countries doing it. And more locals too.

Fourth, they can predict which threads are important and which are not. They will largely focus on threads that are likely to see a lot of engagement in the first place. And threads that are ripe for manipulation.

Fifth, they don't have to fully saturate every thread. Some of that automation is to get the managed accounts to constantly boost each other, liking and retweeting and engaging with them.

This makes troll/bot tweets rise to the top of any responses in a thread.

Sixth, back to sheer numbers, this system depends HEAVILY on getting volunteers. People who join in even though they aren't paid, whether it's for fun, or because they are true believers.

Piling on is a human nature response.

Seventh, detection sucks. Russia and others have known about simple techniques like those used by BotSentinel for years. They've had years to create a whole new crop of accounts that evade detection.

This includes building accounts that are not used for trolling until the time comes. And it includes taking over dormant accounts to lend credibility (why do you think Twitter is trying to get rid of dormant accounts now?)

Eighth, facts are irrelevant. Only emotion matters. You can lie through your teeth and most people won't fact check. But the emotional impression they come away with is a deep impression and it lasts for a long time.

What all this adds up to is that there is more manipulation going on than anyone knows, and it is far more effective than most people realize.

When you look at answers to a tweet, and you're surprised, think about what you are seeing.

You are seeing a handful of professional trolls and bots that have boosted their way to the top of the responses. You are seeing a bunch of asshole volunteers joining in because assholes. You are seeing emotional manipulation, not facts.

And you are seeing your own behavior change in response to this. You were going to answer but you don't because it's too toxic. You answer, but you get pissed off and it doesn't help. You get off Twitter and have a coffee.

And people who were in the undecided middle are changed too. Wow everybody hates this tweet. I sure don't want to say anything like that. I don't want to associate with those ideas.

People will tell you they can't be manipulated. They're not sheep.

It's true. We're not sheep.

We, ALL OF US, are WAY WORSE than sheep when it comes to group behavior, and especially group thinking.

Do I believe social media manipulation changed the 2016 election outcome? You bet I do.

Can we do anything about it now?

YES.

When you look at responses on social media keep all of this in mind. Gird your loins, if you will.

And then respond, with this knowledge in hand.

Show up on social media in numbers too big to manipulate.

And also, retweet the hell out of this thread. Get everyone thinking and talking about social media manipulation and how it works.