Lots of bots or maybe nots: A process for detecting bots in social media research

The use of bot messaging, that being artificially created messages, has increased since 2010. While not all bots are bad, many have been used to share extreme and divisive views on a range of topics, from policy discussion to brand electronic word of mouth.

Introduction

Social media data have become an alluring source of insight into the mindsets of the general population by providing a relatively cheap, quick, and easy-to-access source of data (Graham et al., 2020). These benefits align with shrinking corporate and academic budgets and time pressures to turnaround projects, particularly exacerbated by COVID-19. However, this perceived panacea comes with risks (Kozinets, 2019), which, if not addressed appropriately, can contaminate results and findings (Saldana, 2021)—making it almost impossible to provide accurate, evidence-based conclusions and recommendations. This research note will provide a framework to assist in overcoming a key issue, that being bot...

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