Bot-like Accounts Spreading ‘Hate’ During UK Election
Bot-like social media accounts have significantly spread “disinformation and hate” during the UK general election campaign, a watchdog investigation revealed Tuesday. According to Global Witness, 10 suspected bot profiles on X (formerly known as Twitter) shared over 60,000 messages containing conspiracy theories and violent hate speech, including Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, homophobia, and transphobia. These posts were viewed an estimated 150 million times, potentially exerting an outsized influence on the election discourse.
The accounts also promoted praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin, raising concerns about foreign influence. Bot profiles are run by computers but are designed to mimic human behavior, making them difficult to distinguish from genuine accounts.
These findings underscore growing fears about the integrity of key elections worldwide, which are increasingly vulnerable to cyber-tech advancements and geopolitical tensions. UK Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden recently warned that hostile actors, such as Russia, are attempting to influence the country’s democratic process, with reports of Facebook pages disseminating pro-Kremlin talking points.
Ava Lee, a campaign leader at Global Witness, called on social media companies like X to “clean up their platforms and put our democracies before profit.” She emphasized the danger posed when online political discussions are manipulated by bot accounts. “When the conversation may have been influenced by someone who has paid for bots to spread division or to get a particular party into power, our democracy is in jeopardy,” Lee said.
Global Witness researchers identified the suspected bot accounts by searching for posts and hashtags related to climate change and migration, two issues frequently targeted by disinformation. They tracked at least 10 profiles that posted scores or hundreds of messages daily on these topics after the UK election date was announced on May 22.
Eight of the accounts were overtly political, clearly supporting or opposing specific parties by using party logos as profile pictures or regularly reposting their content. Despite the political nature of the content, Global Witness did not find evidence that any UK party was directly involved in using or promoting these bots.
The content shared by these bot accounts was overwhelmingly extreme, with some posts spreading anti-Semitism and transphobia. Others claimed that climate change is a “hoax” and that vaccines have caused a “genocide.” Although one of the 10 profiles was recently deleted, the other nine remained active as Global Witness released its findings.
The NGO has urged X to investigate these accounts, which likely violate the platform’s policies. It also called on X to invest more in protecting democratic debate from manipulation. X, which was rebranded from Twitter after US billionaire Elon Musk acquired the platform in 2022, did not respond to requests for comment.
These revelations highlight the ongoing challenge of ensuring fair and transparent elections in the digital age. The influence of bot accounts and disinformation campaigns poses a significant threat to democratic processes, requiring urgent action from social media companies and regulators to mitigate their impact. As the UK election approaches, the findings from Global Witness serve as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities in the current electoral system and the need for robust measures to safeguard the integrity of political discourse online.
