Can bots create and manipulate mood and how does it work? ZDFzoom addresses this question in its report «Is it all just a lie?» little by little they visited, among other things, a dealer for likes, comments and views, as well as a data forensic scientist.
It sounds like science fiction, but it's reality. There is a lot of trickery in social media. You can buy anything that makes customers appear more successful online.
A company from Hamburg, for example, provides likes, comments and clicks. Those who pay a lot also get a lot of artificial feedback. Social bots are also used when things need to be particularly fast.
A bot, a digital robot, pretends to be a human user on social media. Simon Hegelich, professor of political data science at the Technical University of Munich, is investigating 30 million Facebook activities and five million Twitter messages on behalf of “ZDFzoom”. Can he prove that the refugee debate has been manipulated on social media? A search for clues starts to find out who is behind it. Are there also social bots at work? Who could be interested in raising the mood with refugee issues?
The refugee debate divides Germany. It is also fueled by hate comments on Facebook and Twitter. It is not only the AfD and the Pegida movement that know how important it is to create an atmosphere for success. Are opinions manipulated on social media? And - can information from social networks still be trusted?
“ZDFzoom” shows what impact bots are already having on social media and how they are influencing the refugee debate.