What Are Protest Bots?

   

           Today, it is common to see bots being utilized all over the internet. These bots have the capability to index websites, edit Wikipedia entries, spam users, scrape data from webpages, launch denial of service attacks, and other assorted activities. To further understand bots, Wikipedia also describe bots as an automated system that is designed to perform a specific task online, called scripts, which are orders given to the bot through coding. In addition to the many capabilities achievable by using these programs, bots can also be characterized into different categories based upon their function. Some of these categories include protest bots and bots of conviction. In this blog, the idea of can a bot conduct a political protest will be further reviewed and the question of whether or not they should be allowed to conduct a political protest will be raised. It is not surprising that today bots have the ability to conduct such a protest. But for many, the area of concern is more focused on whether or not this type of behavior should be allowed.

Why People Agree With Protest Bots

Some people agree with bots and using them to protest on the internet. This is most commonly visualized through the use of a Twitter account. Twitter bots are thought by many to be absolutely necessary to conduct political protest. One can argue that these bots provide awareness towards todays controversial events and in an increasingly unstable and mentally divided population this is needed. These bots have the ability to spread information quickly that can help people understand the “full story” of why a certain party may feel the way they do.  People also feel that bots are necessary for political protest because they contain the ability to help people find common ground on an item of protest. For example, @NRA_Tally provides information that people need to know about shootings that have occurred over the years. The information provided can help people come together in realization that guns are not safe and the right to bear arms should be revoked. Another example of why people would want to keep political protest bots is because of programs like @congressedits. @congressedits is useful because it flags any member of congress who tries to anonymously alter Wikipedia articles. Bots like this are extremely useful and beneficial because they prevent the spread of corrupt government and falsifying information.

Why People Disagree With Protest Bots

While some agree, others strongly disagree with use of political protest bots. A valid argument from this group would refer to the random text generation utilized by many bots. While all information used is typically relevant and factual, the way it can be placed into a Tweet or post can be controversial. If a certain fact is generated into another piece of text, it can sometimes be taken the wrong way and cause for dramatic over reactions to posts. In other words, sometimes protest bots can create a false sense of urgency making a situation much worse. Additionally, people disagree with political protest bots because they feel they shouldn’t have to be exposed to this information while browsing Twitter or the internet. Sometimes stumbling across the information displayed by these bots can create a negative mood that people don’t want to be exposed to. An example of why these bots should not be allowed on the internet involves programs like @TwoHeadlines. @TwoHeadlines provides comical combinations of two trending news events by confusing the information. While the work may be comical, this bot has the ability to confuse and misinform people about relevant events occurring in the news. This can cause negative effects by people not realizing the information is a joke and taking it seriously. Additionally, some may disagree with the use of political protest bots because of @NRA_Tally. While @NRA_Tally provides fully factual information based on public shootings that have occurred, it has the ability to falsify some the NRA responses placed at the end of the Tweet. This act of providing falsified information is never positive and should not be used to expose an organization in a negative manner. This type of behavior can cause anger and unrest among @NRA_Tally viewers.