An Analysis of Socialbots Activity and Influence in Modern Japanese Social Media

Abstract

In recent years, the proliferation of disinformation has become an issue against the backdrop of the spread of social media. In this study, we focus on socialbots, one of the causes of this problem, and analyze several domestic cases to clarify the actual activities and influence of socialbots. As a result of this analysis, we found that the influence of socialbots is greater in Japan than in the U.S. presidential election of 2016, which is a representative case of socialbot influence, and that socialbots retweeted by humans are not significantly different from human accounts. In addition, socialbot accounts retweeted by humans are not significantly different from human accounts. This paper also discusses specific methods and perspectives for further analysis and research on the influence of socialbots.