Inside the murky world of Twitter bots – and why they matter

+ parsing Biden's remarks on Taiwan US Edition - Today's top story: How many bots are on Twitter? The question is difficult to answer and misses the point [View in browser]( US Edition | 24 May 2022 [The Conversation]( Elon Musk has put his planned acquisition of Twitter on hold because he claims the company is undercounting the percentage of spambots on the microblogging platform. The company says its estimate is less than 5%. Setting aside the question of Musk’s motivation for raising the issue, the dispute seems straightforward: What is the prevalence of bots on Twitter? But the reality is considerably murkier. Are all bots spammers? Is most spam and misinformation generated by bots? Are most bots fake accounts, and vice versa? Kai-Cheng Yang and Filippo Menczer of Indiana University’s Observatory on Social Media [unpack the murk]( and what’s involved in estimating bot prevalence. They also explain why even asking the question is less than helpful. 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