Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Influence And Deception Of Twitter: The Authenticity Of The Narrative And Slacktivism In The Australian Electoral Process, Benjamin Waugh, Maldini Abdipanah, Omid Hashemi, Shaquille A. Rahman, David M. Cook

Australian Information Warfare and Security Conference

It is uncertain how many discreet users occupy the social media community. Fake tweets, sock puppets, force‐multipliers and botnets have become embedded within the fabric of new media in sufficient numbers that social media support by means of quantity is no longer a reliable metric for determining authority and influence within openly expressed issues and causes. Election campaigns, and their associated political agendas, can now be influenced by non‐specific virtual presences that cajole and redirect opinions without declaring identity or allegiance. In the lead up to the 2013 Australian Federal Election, the open source Twitter activity for the two major …