How to spot bots on social media

What is a social media bot?

Social media bots are automated programs designed to interact with account users. Mimicking human users, bots engage in automated or semi-automated interactions, creating messages, posts, and other interactions. While they don’t require multiple human managers due to their autonomy, their large numbers raise concerns.

Malicious bots occupy a significant percentage of users online. Despite some providing helpful services such as automated news updates, many are used by scammers and criminals for nefarious purposes, including scamming users, spreading spam, conducting phishing attacks, influencing elections, and manipulating financial markets. Effective identification of bots helps prevent criminals from exploiting their capabilities and contributes to a safer social media environment.

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How can you tell the difference between a social media bot and a person?

Social media bots exhibit unhuman-like behavior, which can make them easier to spot. There is no definitive way to determine if a user is a bot. However, there are signs that an account may be a bot. These signs include:

• Automated responses: Responses that seem pre-programmed or lack context are indicative of bot activity.
• Sudden increase in followers: Bots often generate a sudden surge in followers, especially if the account was previously inactive.
• Spammy behavior: Accounts that share spammy or irrelevant content, such as advertisements or suspicious links, could be bots.
• Identical posts across multiple accounts: Bots may share identical posts or comments across different accounts.
• Lack of personal engagement: Bots rarely engage in meaningful conversations or discussions with other users and instead focus on sending waves of messages or posts.

If you are suspicious of an account being a bot, there are additional strategies you can employ to help determine an account’s legitimacy. These strategies include:

• Examining profile details: Look for incomplete profiles lacking personal information or photos. Bots often use generic names and profile pictures.
• Checking activity patterns: Bots typically exhibit consistent posting times and frequencies, often with a high volume of content.
• Reviewing engagement metrics: Evaluate the quality of interactions. Bots may leave generic comments or repetitive responses, while real users engage with diverse content and offer personalized comments.
• Analyzing content quality: Bots may share low-quality or irrelevant content, including excessive use of hashtags or promotional links.

How to stop social media bots

Once you’ve identified a bot, your next move should be to limit its impact and protect yourself and your online community. Report and flag the bot so the account can be removed by system administrators. You should also block the account.

If bots frequently interact with your social media posts, take a look at your account’s privacy and security settings. For example, setting your account as private can help stop bots from leaving spammy comments under your posts.

Social media bots can be a nefarious online force and one that you should be cautious of. By noticing tell-tale signs and implementing strategies to prevent social media attacks, you can browse safely and at your leisure. For more ways to navigate social media safely, learn more privacy and safety tips.