And once they publish the article, other people share it and some portion of people say "I can't believe people are saying X!" without realizing it was 5 bots.

And once they publish the article, other people share it and some portion of people say "I can't believe people are saying X!" without realizing it was 5 bots. Lather, rinse, repeat, and suddenly you have a "movement" or "trend" from absolutely nothing. Check out Ryan Holliday's "Trust me, I'm lying" to see how it works.