Twitter folk in the know (about Twitter) think Trump is up to something

[justiceischeap]

Last edited Tue May 30, 2017, 03:14 PM - Edit history (1)

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

So the crux of this conversation is that Trump is buying bots and blocking real people so his feed is happy, happy all the time. The epitome of #fakenews.


*****EDIT*******
See comment #16 about how this may be very untrue.

[Ilsa]

1. Q: how do you tell they are bots?

I'm not experienced at this, obviously.

[justiceischeap]

2. Brand new accounts with no bio or profile pic

Very few tweets (if any), etc.

Plus there's a handy, dandy tool:

Link to tweet

[Leith]

35. I Probably Meet the Criteria

I have Twitter and Facebook accounts under a fictitious name, post very little (the most I ever posted in one day was during the latest DU hack), and if I have a pic, it's one of my pet cats. There's next to nothing in my profile.

I have the accounts only so that I can follow a few people and see what the latest craziness is.

But it was all human me posting on Facebook and Twitter a couple weeks ago.

[Ilsa]

60. I'm sure I meet some of the criteria, but I signed up

Years ago, right after that young person was arrested overseas and tweeted his situation to his friends who were able to respond almost immediately to help him.

[L. Coyote]

61. The bots are tweeting every four minutes.

Don't be confused by the troops not yet calling into action. Look for extremely high post counts to identify bots too.

Trump Campaign Accused of Buying Fake Twitter Followers to Spread Propaganda
Louise Mensch | 7:22 am, April 11, 2016

Respected journalist and poll expert Patrick Ruffini sensationally exposed Donald Trump’s Twitter following as being full of ‘bots’ – fake, automated accounts that are paid for and used to spread propaganda or advertising, in a mechanized way.

Designed to give Trump the appearance of momentum, these accounts, many of which have recently been created, tweet and re-tweet pro-Trump slogans until, by sheer force of numbers, their messaging gets noticed by actual human beings.

Bots are not normally allowed by Twitter. The social network could not immediately be reached for comment.

After Ruffini tweeted a series of posts and graphs appearing to show that thousands of fake, ‘egg’ accounts were being commercially employed to give Trump the air of massive online support, Trump campaign manager Dan Scavino appeared to give the story the nod.

...........................

[mercuryblues]

4. no pofiles

an they only follow trump.

[onlyadream]

50. Some people weren't twitter users

and they want to see what Trump tweets, for whatever reason, so they join twitter and follow him. I could totally be one of those people.

[Javaman]

8. Check this out...

Up to 48 million Twitter accounts are bots, study says

https://www.cnet.com/news/new-study-says-almost-15-percent-of-twitter-accounts-are-bots/

Between 9 percent and 15 percent of tweets come from fake accounts, according to new research.

They could be among the nearly 48 million bots on Twitter, according to study released last week by the University of Southern California and Indiana University.

The study, which used more than 1,000 features to identify bot accounts on the site across six categories, estimated that between 9 percent and 15 percent of Twitter's active monthly users are bots. Using Twitter's most recent figure of 319 million active monthly users, that translates into 28.7 million to 47.9 million bots.

The higher-end figure is significantly higher than Twitter's own bot estimate. A Twitter spokesman declined to comment Tuesday other than to point to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Feb. 27. In the filing, Twitter restated its previous estimate that 8.5 percent of its active monthly users are automated accounts. According to Twitter's figure, just over 27 million of its accounts are bots.

The university researchers actually suggested that their 15 percent figure is a "conservative estimate" given the sophisticated nature of more complex bots, which could have been incorrectly identified as humans.

[Ilsa]

10. Thank you. nt

[L. Coyote]

27. Bots are repeaters, hundreds of fake accounts pushing a hashtag or link up in rank. See this:

The troll in the bot factory forgot to add the link, so a whole series of fake people all make an identical mistake. Note their names and faces.

This happened in Reno: A protestor was being beaten on the floor after Trump said, "Get him out of here." Trump's handlers diverted attention from his conduct and the beating by rushing him from the stage under the false pretense of a gun. Then Kushner tweeted there was an assassination attempted. Twitter was overrun with "rushed from stage" and "assassin" while the protester was detained in a men's room for two hours incommunicado. When the truth emerged, it was too late, the media had moved on and Trump causing a guy to be kicked, beaten, and sexually molested at his rally was totally obfuscated. It was near impossible to find the true story under all the manufactured bullshit, and it took hours of effort.

[L. Coyote]

31. Hackers who shut down DU went after the DU page reporting the bots, trolls and beating:

This is happening on November 5th. Imagine if the morning headlines on Nov. 6 had been "Trump Incites Beating of Protestor." That was the REAL NEWS. Bots and the #TrumpTrolls played a major role in making sure that did not become the news. Instead, a manufactured and fake event displaced Trump's egregious conduct of watching a beating silently, a beating he provoked. More details in this DU thread (the final four blank replies were the hackers):

https://www.democraticunderground.com/12512590830

[Ilsa]

59. I remember when this happened, but

I never heard what had happened. (My personal life has extreme ups and downs that sometimes prevent me from following up on stuff.)

The tweets are ridiculous! And the treatment of this man is criminal!

[maryellen99]

44. Plus you can tell when they repeat the same talking point nt

[Kablooie]

3. Probably the Russians are donating the bots for free.

[C_U_L8R]

5. It's about time Twitter closed this clown's account

Trump is abusing them as well as the rest of us

[justiceischeap]

6. So true. Let him tweet his madness from @POTUS. nt

[Else You Are Mad]

52. They never will shut it down.

Trump's batshit tweets brings too many people to Twitter just to see what he said that day. Even if half his followers are bots it doesn't mean that millions of people a day wake up and check twitter solely to see what Trump says. And, that can be used for ad money.

[DeminPennswoods]

7. Hmm, what to do? Be president or block twitter users?

Block twitter users, of course!

[L. Coyote]

37. Use taxpayer money to have a $100,000 a year WH staffer block Twitter user on his personal account.

That's probably closer to the truth and a violation of law.

[33taw]

9. Maybe everyone should close their Twitter accounts and make "Twitter" accountable for

Policing their application and verify accounts. Why anyone with half a brain uses Twitter as a source surprises me daily.

[justiceischeap]

11. Yeah, that horse is out of the barn

You can report accounts as bots but then they have to be reviewed by humans.

The point isn't the fact he's on Twitter but how he may be planning on using Twitter. If he is deleting real people and using bots, then he's gaslighting.

[33taw]

22. He is not deleting user accounts, but blocking users. That is very different.

Twitter is not a legitimate source of news. If Twitter were legitimate, they would block account set-up using bots and delete accounts set-up by bots. It is time to pressure Twitter and their advertisers. Fake Donald Trump accounts are not helping matters either.

[L. Coyote]

39. Everyone with a brain understands the importance of Twitter in politics today.

Twitter is an astounding source of news and information if you know how to use it. You only need half a brain to distinguish bullshit and fact.

[mzteaze]

12. You can...

You can go to services like Twitter Audit to find out if you have Twitter bot followers and shed them (if you want).

[justiceischeap]

14. Yes but it appears he's doing the opposite

He's adding more bots and blocking/deleting real followers. The question is why? Because his real followers aren't defending him anymore?

[mzteaze]

25. More likely

To push back at real news and accounts. Some bots target "unfavorable" accounts and then essentially spam them with a bunch of crap posts. Some interact but their default tends to be discredited arguments over Hillary or Obama.

But also look for those bots to play a bunch of "oppo" information to try and counter the stuff from both sides.

[BumRushDaShow]

26. Seems obvious why

So they can mass retweet his bullshit so that it is trending. I expect the blocks are mostly those who are replying to him with some hilarious insults and other memes. This apparently started overnight -

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[L. Coyote]

43. Some followers are there to see the tweets in real time so they can counter them immediately.

The comments are added in chronological order. There are those with special access to the Twitter server who get there fastest. That's a whole another story!

Someone liked George W. Bush on Facebook almost the instant he open his Facebook page, just to post a discussion in his open forum about stealing the 2004 election. Bush closed that forum almost immediately But, screen captures tell the story:

George W. Bush Facebook page: How Kerry Votes Were Switched To Bush Votes

As you can well imagine, the server hosting the images posted on Bush's Facebook page logged the IP address of Bush's personal computer. Gold mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BumRushDaShow]

46. !!!!

regarding Shrub!

[DK504]

13. I'm sure Putin is doing this for free as part of the quid pro quo.

[annabanana]

15. Maybe they think if he never hears "a discouraging word"

that he'll be happy and think everything is just fine and dandy?

[SticksnStones]

16. Not true.

While half of trump's followers are likely bots, the story that Jester is pushing on Twitter is not true.

Link to tweet

Also, one might want to note that this is the third time in the last month or so that false rumors began with Jester: Prince Philip dying (not true), a clearly though cleverly altered conversation misattributed to be foretelling the Manchester bombing and now this.

Those on Twitter: Proceed with caution when it comes to Jester.

[justiceischeap]

20. Thanks for the info to balance this out. nt

[SticksnStones]

21. Peace.

[mzteaze]

29. Thanks for Caution on Jester

Yes, I've noticed that Jester has been a bit of a fraud since the Prince Phillip debacle AND that he won't apologize for any of those fake posts.

Also, he's been a lot less vocal other than to snip at other former followers.

[BumRushDaShow]

30. Unless maybe the "Pro" version of the audit gives you the most recent data

the current basic audit data indicates - "Last updated 3 days, 19 hours ago.", which wouldn't capture overnight.

[SticksnStones]

45. 30.9 mil is his current followers tally

Which is more or less captured in that graphic.

He's ramping up, to be sure, but it's not 5 mil in three days.

[BumRushDaShow]

49. I think the claim was "overnight"

and I think we may have to wait a few days to see what the reality is, again because unless the "Pro" version has a real-time graphic, that graphic is 3 days old. However based on a bunch of articles about Rmoney in 2012 and the mysterious appearance of fake accounts -

http://mashable.com/2012/07/23/romney-twitter-followers/#qfKeOrQ5Ggq0
http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/07/25/mitt_romney_fake_twitter_followers_who_s_buying_them_.html

... there are services out there that apparently track these things (which is how they discovered what happened with Rmoney)...

[SticksnStones]

53. The Twitterverse claim was that in the past three days trump has added 5 mil users.

The graphic no matter how old it is, references a total of 30.9 mil followers. If you go to his Twitter account you will see that is his current followers tally. The claim is demonstrably not true. A Ramping up is occurring but it is not 5 mil in three days. Jester is once again pushing someone not accurate.

Regardless of how old this graphic is, it reflects the same, easily viewable number.

But if you want to believe Jester - the guy who claimed Prince Phillip was dead, well by all means, wait it out.

Peace.

[BumRushDaShow]

54. I know this Jester character

is bizarre and no, I don't do twitter nor do I follow the guy... But I know we just watched the communications Director step down today and you have an apparent revamp of the "WH communications" underway. So just watch and be mindful - that is my take away.

Propaganda via exaggeration that causes someone to completely dismiss what is going on is just as effective a fake as the belief of the exaggeration itself.

I just went to one of the analytics tracking sites and got a pop-up that indicated that Drumpf had "44,741" new followers since yesterday, so just be aware, and as they say "the trend is your friend".

[SticksnStones]

56. I agree that in this age of information coming from so many different angles

One needs to be discerning.

I was just reiterating a flat statement of fact, prefaced twice by the disclaimer that yes, the bots are ramping up.

I would hope no one reads deeper into my meaning beyond the statements I made which were:

1. A ramping up is occurring.
2. It is demonstrably not 5 million or even close to 5 million in three days.
3. Jester's track record of late is suspect.

That's all. I believe essentially we are on the same page. I just wanted to be clear with my posts.

Peace.

#Resist !

[Iplayoneontv]

62. Thanks for the information!

I really appreciate the effort to share information on here!

[SticksnStones]

63. Welcome to DU!

It's a thought provoking experience and one of the more civilized corners of the Internet ~

[sarcasmo]

17. When you click on his followers, many accounts were created this month.

A true sign of a Twitter bot, no picture.

[JoeStuckInOH]

18. Whats the point of removign human followers and adding bot followers?

I just don't see the great value in that.

[33taw]

24. He is removing anyone that disagrees with him.

[JoeStuckInOH]

33. But what's so significant about bot followers? Why does that signify an upcoming event?

[33taw]

40. He can control the message with bot accounts he creates.

I am not sure what event the author is referring to. But I am sure he will push a message and try to convince the media that these are the opinions of the public. The public has backed off on his rallies, so now he needs a new messaging tool.

[SticksnStones]

41. It's a multi dimensional fakeout

Many fake users pushing his fake message. Also, the number of followers on Twitter ranks one's popularity and authenticity.

His high number of followers gives the impression he's more popular than he actually is among living humans.

[L. Coyote]

34. Users who are blocked can't see your posts and can't comment on them. It silences the opposition.

Your followers thereby don't see what thoie people have to say. Click on any tweet posted on DU and you go to the thread. There will be comments in reply to the tweet. That is where blocking matters.

Also, a blocked user can't tweet at you, can't post something that everyone who follows your account would see because your handle is in their tweet.

This guy is going to get blocked, just watch:

Link to tweet

[iluvtennis]

19. Indeed the epitome of fakeness. "When all else fails, manipulate the data". GAH

[L. Coyote]

51. Manufacturing consent has metempsychosized into pure fakery manufacturing likes, retweets, follows

There's no there there in their realm, they're faking their there.

Link to tweet

[usaf-vet]

23. Facebook and Twitter could and should be American first.

They can control this. They can stop this. Damn it.

Or they can be part of the problem.

[C Moon]

28. Desperate times call for desperate measures...these Trump traitors

are not going to go down easily.
They've got some schemes brewing in the backwoods.

[pangaia]

32. GOING AFTER SOCIAL MEDIA

This is the line that really worries me... in ALL its ramifications.

[L. Coyote]

36. Happening already ... new excuse for why TrumpRussia should be ignored ... cry FAKE!

Now that he's not running it, Devin Nunes believes the Trump–Russia investigation is a fake
Mark Sumner - May 30, 2017 · 8:00 AM PDT

Next week, Devin Nunes reveals the shocking truth about Bigfoot

As seen on Trump Tweets, the new excuse for why Trump–Russia should be ignored is one of the old excuses for why Trump–Russia should be ignored.

“Russian officials must be laughing at the U.S. & how a lame excuse for why the Dems lost the election has taken over the Fake News.” .......................

Link to tweet

[DesertRat]

38. From Malcolm Nance:

Link to tweet

[SticksnStones]

47. Respect to Nance and his service to this country but

Why is he agreeing with something demonstrably not true?

Gotta be careful with Jester's posts...

(See my post # 16 above in this thread)

[Tommy_Carcetti]

42. As a proaction or as a reaction? Nt

[L. Coyote]

48. Bots inflate LIKES for Trump's tweets. Half Trump's tweets likes & RTs come from Russian bots.

Link to tweet

[herding cats]

58. When you're blocked you can no longer read their feed while logged into your account.

You see their header and profile pic and a message saying you've been blocked. I'm on my secondary account now since he blocked my primary one during the election.

So far, that one is still not blocked.

[phylny]

57. I saw this about fake accounts, not sure it's true: