user_dan t1_jcb0q8j wrote
Reply to comment by Wagamaga in Twitter conspiracy theories during the pandemic involving Bill Gates. The study found what is most concerning is the speed and rapid spread of bot use to unforeseen areas. Researchers are just beginning to get a glimpse of issues and concerns that will result from this technology by Wagamaga
The paper tries to paint a picture that Bill Gates was the center of the pandemic conspiracies. The Bill Gates stuff was limited to a small slice of the COVID disinformation campaign.
The social media discussions about Bill Gates were never organic. No one/bot wakes up one day with a Gates conspiracy and it goes viral. The catalyst is always a mainstream article or interview with or mentioning Bill Gates. From there, bigger influencers / bots pick it up and run with it until the trending spike dissipates.
The paper is looking at the train caboose in isolation and trying to come up with reasons for it's speed.
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