A recent investigation uncovered that a small number of “bot-like” accounts have been responsible for spreading disinformation and hate on social media, with their posts viewed over 150 million times leading up to the UK General Election. These accounts have been prolific, sharing more than 60,000 posts since May 22 on a major social media platform. The content of these posts is concerning, as they contain extreme hate speech, disinformation, conspiracy theories, and even praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The investigation identified characteristics of these “bot-like” accounts, such as frequent posting, handles ending in long strings of numbers, and the absence of profile pictures. It’s alarming that just 10 of these accounts have had such a massive influence due to the high volume of their posts and the number of people exposed to their content. Most of these accounts focus on UK politics, with one also focusing on US politics and the UK royal family.
One account even includes hashtags like “MBGA” (Make Britain Great Again) and “MAGA” (Make America Great Again) in its bio, reposting anti-migrant, transphobic, and far-right content while supporting Reform UK. Another account describes itself as pro-Palestine, the environment, and the NHS, actively working against the Conservative Party and regularly posting anti-Nigel Farage content.
It’s important to note that there is no evidence suggesting that any UK political party is involved in paying for, using, or promoting these bots as part of their election campaigns.
