How bots manipulate social media - What in the World podcast, BBC World Service

Chappell Roan recently faced backlash amid online chat that falsely claimed her bodyguard left a young fan in tears. But reports now suggest the entire online drama could have been driven by bots programmed to spread misinformation. Click here to subscribe to our channel 👉🏽 https://bbc.in/3VyyriM The BBC’s disinformation reporter Jacqui Wakefield explains what bots are, how they work, and what the people who operate them stand to gain. State actors and governments have been linked to specific bot campaigns in the past. BBC Monitoring’s Veronika Malinboym looks at some of the bot activity linked to Russia, including a campaign to undermine the Summer Olympics in Paris by spreading misinformation about a bed bugs outbreak. 00:18 Intro 01:22 What are bots and bot farms? 01:57 How bot farms work in practice 02:35 Who runs bots and why 03:24 How bots generate income 04:02 The Chappell Roan controversy explained 04:53 How bots fuel online pile‑ons 05:51 Why are people using bots? 06:58 What social media platforms are doing 08:56 How to spot a bot account Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Iqra Farooq Producers: William Lee Adams and Benita Barden Video editor: Melvin Boateng Editor: Julia Ross-Roy ---------------- This is the official BBC World Service YouTube channel. If you like what we do, you can also find us here: Instagram 👉🏽 https://www.instagram.com/bbcworldservice Twitter 👉🏽 https://twitter.com/bbcworldservice Facebook 👉🏽 https://facebook.com/bbcworldservice BBC World Service website 👉🏽 https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldserviceradio Thanks for watching and subscribing! #BBCWorldService #WorldService #bots #ai #botfarm