Manipulation on social media

Manipulation on social media is not always the work of a single person. Sometimes it is carried out by groups that create numerous accounts posing as ordinary users. Such accounts may publish similar posts, comment on each other’s content and boost reach. They may also join discussions en masse to give the impression that a particular opinion is very popular.

Some of these accounts may be automated. They are known as bots. A bot can post and comment very quickly, often following a single pattern.

In practice, this might look like a large number of similar comments appearing under a post within a short space of time, whilst the commenters’ profiles are sparsely filled out, have few photos, or display a very similar posting style.

Coordinated campaigns are also common on social media. This is when many accounts simultaneously spread the same message, sometimes across multiple groups and pages at once. The aim is to reach a large number of people quickly and provoke a specific reaction, such as fear, hostility or division.