Are you arguing with a bot? Here's how to know.

https://mashable.com/2018/02/20/how-to-spot-a-bot/?fbclid=IwAR14vRVRSgBzJrIAt75Yc_fXYc1-HcvrjMjlrAIpncbpsumUl2WR4BRQsxs

By Jack Morse
Feb 20, 2018

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Despite what basically any quick scan of Twitter or Facebook might suggest, however, the surest way to beat the bots isn't to argue with them. Rather, it's to see them for what they are — manufactured fictions designed to manipulate both you and the larger conversation in order to further unknown (and sometimes known) agendas.

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These days bots are an inescapable part of online life. Just last year researchers estimated that Twitter alone was home to around 30 million of them. There are automated spam accounts on Instagram, Facebook, and pretty much everywhere else.

Some appear designed to intentionally rile us up or to support specific political candidates, while others have purposes less clear. While the goals of their creators may vary, there are telltale signs that many bots share. If you can identify these, you can better armor yourself against their onslaught.

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The automated accounts that you need help uncovering are the ones that are actively trying to trick you. Accounts like the now-suspended @jenna_abrams, which many — including certain media outlets — thought to be the account of a real person named Jenna Abrams. Spoiler: It wasn't.

Thankfully, there are a few easy steps you can take to help you determine the authenticity of an account. Notably, none of these are foolproof, but a critical and discerning eye is something we're all going to need to develop and hone if we are to survive as a functioning society.

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you don't need to knock a bot offline to beat it. Realizing it's an automated account out to deceive you takes away its power to do so. Feel free to mute or block the account after you've reported it and return to going about your daily online business.

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