Everybody is under the influence of disinformation bots (except you and me)

I strongly recommend that you take a look at Eric Schwartzman’s new article in Fast Company, “Bot farms invade social media to hijack popular sentiment.” Schwartzman’s deeply researched piece explains how malign actors are using banks of actual mobile phones, spoofed to appear as actual independent people, to manipulate sentiment about everything from actions in the Gaza war to stock tips.

You and I are immune, of course

It’s extremely clear from this that credulous individuals who don’t know how to engage in critical thinking are easily manipulated. Bot farm operators decide what they want people to think, plant or amplify that sentiment, exploit social media algorithms, and create the impression that “everyone” is now thinking or talking about something. Whether that something is true or not, seems less important.

Of course you and I are smarter than that. We embrace true perspectives even when it is at odds with our beliefs. We seek multiple sources for information that appears designed to tap into our confirmation bias. We don’t take shortcuts based on headlines we see in social media; we are skeptics.

Right?

Are you sure?

When was the last time you checked the truth of what you read? When was the last time you picked up on something that was true and violated your beliefs? When was the last time you assumed that something a friend shared was true, regardless of where it came from, because of who shared it?

As the physicist Richard Feynman said, “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself – and you are the easiest person to fool.”

At least I think he said it. Seems plausible, anyway.