Social Bots in social Media

Social bots are currently being discussed very controversially. But it is still unclear to many what social bots actually are and what influence they have.
BOTS (short for software robots) have existed since the first computers were invented. The algorithms used simulate human behavior. As social media has become more prevalent, the importance of bots has also increased dramatically. The problem is that they are not only used for legitimate purposes, but also misused for manipulation.
Research on the influence of social bots is slowly gaining momentum, even though the impact of social bots on corporate social media channels is still largely unknown. The current research project of the Academic Society is dedicated to precisely this research gap.