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The author did by using the word "bot" and WaPo did by saying "programming bots to fight racism". Maybe it was only clickbait but they clearly suggested automa

• inimino 10y ago
  Yes, the WaPo headline was total nonsense, but the article text clarifies that they are called "bots" but not autonomous. Perhaps he just wanted something short and that sounds better than "fake user accounts".
  • qb45 10y ago
    Having been brainwashed by WaPo's headline, I interpreted it as automated but requiring operator's confirmation before "acting", i.e. actually sending something, which sounds reasonable if you aren't sure that your code will work 100% as intended ;) But now on second read I see it's ambiguous and the author seems to be politics student so maybe you are right after all that he really did it all by hand. > Perhaps he just wanted something short and that sounds better than "fake user accounts". I think "accounts" would be fine. Or "sockpuppets" if one wants to be fancy :)