Networks of fake accounts found on Twitter

The largest network ties together more than 350,000 accounts and further work suggests others may be even bigger. UK researchers accidentally uncovered the lurking networks while probing Twitter to see how people use it. Some of the accounts have been used to fake follower numbers, send spam and boost interest in trending topics..

The network of 350,000 bots stood out because all the accounts in it shared several subtle characteristics that revealed they were linked. These included: tweets coming from places where nobody lives, tessages being posted only from Windows phones and almost exclusively including quotes from Star Wars novels.

Twitter deserved praise for its work on finding and eliminating bots, he added, but it was clear that skilled hackers had found ways to avoid official scrutiny and keep the bots ticking over. The pair's most recent work had uncovered a bigger network of bots that seemed to include more than 500,000 accounts. .

Joe Bloggs | Source: BBC News