Notices have been posted recently by social media users warning against the prevalence of crypto-bot accounts. These AI bots can detect trigger words and automatically post negative replies and anti-crypto propaganda. Particular warnings this week related to Bitcoin Cash, as there has recently been a spate of anti-BCH rhetoric postings, but these social bots can be programmed to spot any tagged words and react to them.

One example is the mediator bots used on some social media sites which remove posts believed to contravene the site rules. Users complain that these bots are not sufficiently smart to recognise the actual content of a post aside from the specific triggers, and many complaints are received about posts being wrongly deleted. Researchers have identified good bots that share stuff automatically, but there are also malicious bots which are used to deliberately distort online topics and can be grouped into botnets to coordinate posting.

Florida's Attorney General has also launched an investigation into social bots used to provide celebs with fake followers, following allegations by Twitter, Facebook and other sites that follower figures were being artificially bumped up. A company based in West Palm Beach called Devumi and its related company, Bytion, are being investigated for stealing identities to create fake social media profiles which are then populated with bots.