Thread by @conspirator0

We explored the follower networks of the 311 dormant bots we found following @keichri, and indeed found a much larger group of old automated accounts.

cc: @ZellaQuixote

https://twitter.com/conspirator0/status/1324879318657462272

We found 25574 automated accounts that we believe to be part of this botnet. All were created in batches between 2012 and 2014, and they use repetitive naming schemes. (This is probably not the whole network, we stopped searching when the pace of finding more accounts slowed.)

These accounts are mostly dormant, but back when they were active they tweeted via a wide variety of automation apps (883 apps total). Almost all of their content is in Russian.

This botnet's content is a mix of tweets and retweets, with occasional replies. The accounts retweeted and replied to are mostly other members of the botnet. The botnet's original content is extremely repetitive (and often about corsets, if Google Translate is to be believed).

As with the accounts they retweet and reply to, the bots in this network mostly follow each other. The verified accounts they follow are all over the place in terms of theme and language (unlike the bots themselves, they're not all Russian-language accounts).