We've analyzed a variety of bot/sock networks using coordinated retweeting to make content look more popular than it actually is (astroturfing). For a change of pace, here's a look at a network from 2018 that used quote tweets for artificial amplification.
cc: @ZellaQuixote
cc: @ZellaQuixote
This June 2018 tweet from @OrigoNetworks received more than 3 times as many quote tweets as retweets (quote tweet/retweet ratio of ~0.05 appears to be average). Furthermore, the accounts that quote tweeted it were disproportionately created in June/July 2018. What happened?
To explore further, we looked at other tweets with lopsided quote tweet/retweet ratios quote tweeted by the bulk-created accounts that quote tweeted the @OrigoNetworks tweet, and indeed found more accounts created in June/July 2018 that quote tweeted a lot of the same tweets.
We wound up with a set of 7816 accounts created between June 18th and July 5th, 2018 that we believe to be part of a quote tweet-based astroturfing network. These accounts have been dormant since late 2019, but tweeted via a mix of Twitter Web Client and a variety of custom apps.
What accounts did this network amplify back when it was active? Almost all of the accounts it frequently quote tweeted are cryptocurrency and tech-themed accounts. A notable exception is Chinese state media outlet @CGTNOfficial.
Although quote tweets were this network's primary method of amplification, it also utilized normal retweets from time to time. The set of accounts it retweeted is similar to those it quote tweeted: cryptocurrency/tech accounts and @CGTNOfficial.
Did this network repeat tweets? Oh yes it did - many of the tweets produced by the network were repeated across hundreds of accounts. (Almost all of the tweets shown in the table are quote tweets.)
* tagged the wrong account in a couple of tweets in this thread, should be @OrigoNetwork.
https://twitter.com/conspirator0/status/1326974461598425088
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