Researchers from UMass Amherst have uncovered that social media polls, particularly on platforms like X/Twitter, played a misleading role in shaping public perceptions of candidate popularity in the 2016 and 2020 US presidential elections.
The study, led by Professor Przemek Grabowicz, suggests that a substantial number of votes in these informal polls could have originated from troll farms, artificially inflating the apparent support for Donald Trump. This manipulation of social media metrics raises concerns about the influence of online platforms on political realities and the integrity of public discourse.
The findings highlight the need for greater scrutiny and regulation of online political content to safeguard the democratic process.
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It's high time we demand transparency and regulation on social media to protect our democracy from these deceptive practices that mislead voters and undermine the integrity of our elections.
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Are Social Media Polls Lying to You About Elections?
Questionable voting, including vote purchasing, rife on X/Twitter, contributed to inaccurate impression of Trump’s electoral performance. Research reveals significant bias in X/Twitter political polls,
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Social media polls deliberately skew political realities of 2016, 2020 US presidential elections, finds researchers
Informal political polls conducted on X/Twitter during both the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential elections were significantly skewed by questionable votes, many of which may have been purchased from troll farms.
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UMass researchers find that social media polls skewed 2016, 2020 elections
Professor Przemek Grabowicz and a team of UMass Amherst researchers found that possible troll farm votes made Trump appear more popular on social media.
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