About the Author

Ramón Reichert

E-Mail: ramon.reichert@univie.ac.at

Ramón Reichert (Dr. phil.) currently works as a researcher and coordinator of the Eu-ropean project “Addressing Violent Radicalisation: A Multi-Actor Response Through Education,” located at the Department Art & Education, Linz. He is program director of the M.Sc. Data Studies at Danube University Krems, Austria. His research interests include the historiography of media and technology, and the impact of new media and communication technologies such as the Internet, social media, visual culture, and identity politics. He is the co-editor of the peer-reviewed, international journal Digital Culture & Society. He is author of Amateure im Netz (2008), Die Macht der Vielen (2013), Big Data (2014), Sozialmaschine Facebook (2019), and Selfies (2022).

Contributions by Author: Ramón Reichert

Issue 13
teaser image #13, artwork by Hannahlisa Kunyik
bots
digital publics
public opinion
social bots
social networks

Terror Machines

Social Bots in Struggles for Hegemony in Digital Publics

This essay will elaborate upon the ambivalences of unreliable communication on social networks, using the case study of social bots. Social bots simulate human users in social networks. If they do not give any indication that they are machines, they can be classified as fake accounts. Social bots can be considered opinion robots as they are used strategically to influence discussions on social networks. What users see on their screens today when they consume news portals, social networks and online platforms corresponds to precarious in_visibility.