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Twitter bars tactics used by 'bots' to spread false stories
Source: Reuters
TECHNOLOGY NEWS FEBRUARY 21, 2018 / 4:55 PM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO
Twitter bars tactics used by 'bots' to spread false stories
David Ingram
4 MIN READ
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) said on Wednesday it would no longer allow people to post identical messages from multiple accounts, cracking down on a tactic that Russian agents and others have allegedly used to make tweets or topics go viral.
The San Francisco-based social network also said it would not allow people to use software to simultaneously perform other actions such as liking or retweeting from multiple accounts.
Twitter, known for freewheeling discussions in short messages, is under pressure from users and Western governments to stem the spread of false news and foreign propaganda, often done with the help of automated accounts known as bots.
Twitter bots disseminated propaganda before the 2016 U.S. elections and have continued to inflame U.S. politics under cover of anonymity, academic researchers and U.S. authorities say.
-snip-
Twitter bars tactics used by 'bots' to spread false stories
David Ingram
4 MIN READ
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) said on Wednesday it would no longer allow people to post identical messages from multiple accounts, cracking down on a tactic that Russian agents and others have allegedly used to make tweets or topics go viral.
The San Francisco-based social network also said it would not allow people to use software to simultaneously perform other actions such as liking or retweeting from multiple accounts.
Twitter, known for freewheeling discussions in short messages, is under pressure from users and Western governments to stem the spread of false news and foreign propaganda, often done with the help of automated accounts known as bots.
Twitter bots disseminated propaganda before the 2016 U.S. elections and have continued to inflame U.S. politics under cover of anonymity, academic researchers and U.S. authorities say.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-bots/twitter-bars-tactics-used-by-bots-to-spread-false-stories-idUSKCN1G52R1