Lots of imp pushback abt misconceptions re: "bots" here yesterday, so I'm going to collect them in a thread (mainly so I can find them later)
Bot myths, like echo chambers & backfire effects, are an area where myth & reality don't match up, & will cause policy misfires /1
Bot myths, like echo chambers & backfire effects, are an area where myth & reality don't match up, & will cause policy misfires /1
What caused this was an NPR story claiming *wild* bot figures that confirmed a lot of people's priors about social media so spread far and wide.
Here's a good thread breaking down some of the things wrong with that story /2
Here's a good thread breaking down some of the things wrong with that story /2
Twitter then (I mean, there's no other word for it) subtweeted the story here /3
With more from Twitter's @yoyoel here saying Twitter has not seen evidence supporting the article's claims /4
And Facebook's @ngleicher here, with the important point about the risks of making hyperbolic claims /5
Wouldn't be true social media policy debate without a good thread from @alexstamos, here making the point that "Disinformation about disinformation is still disinformation" /6
And a classic of the @BrendanNyhan genre -- we need to make sure we don't just conflate numbers of tweets with exposure or, even more importantly, effects /7
.@noUpside pointing out that there can be a lag between reality and public consciousness -- not the first or last time this will happen in the tech space, and something we all need to be aware of /10
Please add more -- there was lots of good threads on this here, and it was a good example of how Twitter can be a really valuable tool for discussion as well as a place where people are such jerks you think they just *have* to be bots or... 😢 /11
