Assessing the Role of Social Bots During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Infodemic, Disagreement, and Criticism.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Social media has changed the way we live and communicate, as well as offering unprecedented opportunities to improve many aspects of our lives, including health promotion and disease prevention. However, there is also a darker side to social media that is not always as evident as its possible benefits. In fact, social media has also opened the door to new social and health risks that are linked to health misinformation.

Objective

This study aimed to study the role of social media bots during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Methods

The Twitter streaming API was used to collect tweets regarding COVID-19 during the early stages of the outbreak. The Botometer tool was then used to obtain the likelihood of whether each account is a bot or not. Bot classification and topi

SUBMITTER: Suarez-Lledo V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9407159 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature