The “Russian bots” between social and technological

Examining the ordinary folk theories of Twitter users

Dados Bibliográficos

ID6443373
AutoresD M Obreja (0000-0001-6146-8721, University of Bucharest, Romania, autor correspondente)
Ano2024
Volume27
Fascículo10
Páginas5622-5639
Data de publicação2024-05-27
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoNew Media & Society (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1461-4448 • E-ISSN: 1461-7315
EditoraSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/14614448241255692
OpenAlexW4399054110
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas2
Referências citadas25

The bots’ activity is already frequently documented in the literature, and the war between Russia and Ukraine accentuated this scholarly interest for users’ sensemaking. Applying folk theories framework on 56 semi-structured interviews with users who tweet about “Russian bots,” I examine how bots might be understood as structural-computational entities, with complex roles in shaping digitally mediated realities. Findings reveal several theories associated with Russian bots. First, participants believe that these bots actively endorse users’ political enemies, which are mainly politicians from the participants’ countries. Second, such bots are considered to increase animosities between users, as participants actively unfollow their peers on Twitter and unfriend them in real life, based on their opinions regarding the war in Ukraine. Third, bots boost users’ digital activity, given the fact that participants consider them responsible for artificially increasing the popularity of certain accounts or, on the contrary, for systematic and aggressive attacks against others

Internet privacy · Social media · Sociology · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Media, Religion, Digital Communication · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Social Media and Politics