Twitter is once again moving forward in adding more transparency to its Tweet process by rolling out new bot labels that developers can now voluntarily add to automated accounts.

Label Bots

Based on currently available information, bot accounts on Twitter will now be displayed with a new ‘Robot’ icon next to the profile name. A special marker will also denote that the account is automated. The same will also be displayed in the Tweet Feed, with a tag labeled ‘Automated’ beneath the profile name on Tweets.

Twitter is using these voluntary labels as a means to help emphasize ‘Good Bots’, as opposed to the bot accounts that are usually connected to negative applications.

Twitter explains:

“#GoodBots help people stay apprised of useful, entertaining, and relevant information from fun emoji mashups to breaking news. The label will give people on Twitter additional information about the bot and its purpose to help them decide which accounts to follow, engage with, and trust.”

So while it’s not designed to be a total bot vs human-controlled identifier at this stage, it’s a step in that direction. With bots having been identified as a long-standing platform issue, this new push could become a key element in resolving the issue. Twitter has been developing bot identifiers for quite a while now and has even launched live testing last September. Twitter also rolled out this developer update in 2020 which made bot account identification a requirement for using its platform, making the use of undeclared bot accounts go against Twitter’s rules.

The new bot labels are, theoretically, the next step forward, with all legitimate bot accounts being duly labeled as such. This makes it easier for users to understand who or what they’re engaging with, which could potentially impact content distribution and amplification. Sort of.

Although Twitter is implementing new rules around bot usage, this doesn’t guarantee the adherence of those who use bots for negative purposes. Twitter notes that bots have repeatedly been identified as key distributors of misinformation and divisive messaging, with instances such as the ‘2016 US election bot-fed political engine’ highlighting just how much bots can influence public discourse.

The Wrap

In other news, there have also been recent reports suggesting that the Chinese Government has been using social media bots to advance an ‘Authoritarian Agenda’ via global trends, which these operators would of course not voluntarily disclose.

So while updating regulations around bot-use is not a be-all-end-all solution, it’s, again, a step in the right direction. If combined with improved detection processes and more specific ruling around usage, Twitter may one day finally be able to solve its rather persistent bot issue.

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Sources 

https://bit.ly/3Jyad0O