Press: Computational Propaganda: Investigating the Impact of Algorithms and Bots on Political Discourse in Europe

The secret robot armies fighting to undermine democracy

Governments and special interest groups are using networks of automated accounts on social media to sow dissent, spread disinformation and subvert their opponents.  In this article the European Research Council discusses the findings of the Programme on Democracy and Technology work supported by the ERC from 2016-2020

“We didn’t expect over the course of the project the problem would grow as bad as it did,” notes principal investigator Philip Howard. “We can see how some governments, lobbyists, the far right and white supremacists all use these to manipulate democracies.”