difficult

Twitter reports that fewer than 5% of accounts are fakes or spammers, commonly referred to as “bots.” Since his offer to buy Twitter was accepted, Elon Musk has repeatedly questioned these estimates, even dismissing Chief Executive Officer Parag Agrawal’s public response. Later, Musk put the deal on hold and demanded more proof. So why are people arguing about the percentage of bot accounts on Twitter? As the creators of Botometer, a widely used bot detection tool, our group at the Indiana University Observatory on Social Media has been studying inauthentic accounts and manipulation on social media for over a decade. We brought the concept of the “social bot” to the foreground and first estimated their prevalence on Twitter in 2017. Based on our knowledge and experience, we believe tha...

Recent allegations regarding stock trading by members of Congress in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic have raised calls for the investigation of these politicians for illegal “insider trading.” But successfully prosecuting such cases will be very difficult. Even federal judges struggle with writing clear instructions to lay jurors in insider trading cases. Often, verdicts are reversed on appeal due to errors in explaining complicated legal terms. There are two different provisions of law that could apply to the trading activity of senators and congressional staff. Members of Congress and staff could run afoul of either or both of these laws. But proving a violation and convicting them is not likely. Stock Act and securities law The first provision is a rule known as Rule 10(b)(5) afte...

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The Question Is Difficult To Answer And Misses The Point – How Many Bots Are On Twitter?

Insider trading by members of Congress may be difficult to prove