Solecast: Erin Gallagher on Hacking Public Opinion, Twitter Bots & Cyborgs

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On today’s episode I do an in-depth with Erin Gallagher. Erin is a truly independent journalist who has been tracking and studying the phenomena of twitter bots, their human operators (herein referred to as ‘cyborgs’), and “hacking public opinion.” We go in depth on how social media bots engage in dark propaganda campaigns to sway elections and more. We talk about how information cascades through our networks and manipulates public opinion.

We talk about specific cases going back as far as 2012 in places like South Africa, South Korea and Central/South America. We also discuss “Patriotic Programmers” and other actors who are spreading fake news and divisive propaganda with an (often) extreme right wing agenda.

For more information on this subject follow Erin on Twitter or Medium and check out the following articles:

South Korea spy agency admits trying to rig 2012 presidential election 

Sepulveda “How To Hack an Election”

Federal Election Board Denies Bots Exist

Patriotic programmers

I Bought A Bot Army For $100

Erin Gallagher’s Mapping of Fake Antifa Accounts Made With Gephy

Music: Sole & DJ Pain 1 “Teachings Of Ice Cube (Memory Remix)