Congress isn’t always known as a place of great sincerity. Sometimes, believe it or not, the bonhomie and friendliness exhibited by members is not entirely heartfelt. I know, try to cope. Turns out that extends to the Twitter accounts of elected representatives, which are packed to the gills with spambots and other non-human accounts.
From The Hill:
Jon Tilton, the general manager for digital marketing firm Advocacy Media, ran a follower check last weekend on every member of Congress using StatusPeople, a tool designed specifically to check for fake followers on Twitter. He found that an average of 38 percent of accounts following representatives on Twitter and 42 percent of those following senators are a combination of fake and inactive accounts.
…
“Twitter is run amuck with phony accounts,” Tilton said, noting that the problem raises questions about Twitter’s legitimacy as a communication tool. His advice is for congressional members and campaigns to invest in regular attempts to scrub their account of phonies, recommending campaigns and offices dedicate resources now in order to avoid wasting them later.
Yeah, I guess, Jon Tilton. I don’t know. I think most people accept that a certain percentage of Twitter accounts are fake. It’s like junk mail or spam, you recognize that there’s always some chaff that goes along with the wheat.
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