--- description: As many as two-thirds of the tweeted links to the most popular websites were shared by bots and not human users, a Pew study finds title: Bots Are Posting Most of the Links on Twitter image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d609f43e5078862/69892d35db2987987525f54f/gettyimages-876768474.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Bots May Be Behind Two-Thirds of Links Shared on Twitter, a New Study Finds by [Laignee Barron](/author/laignee-barron/) ## Laignee Barron Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 12, 2023 8:40 PM CUTPublished: Apr 10, 2018 4:41 AM CUT  A Twitter logo is seen on a computer screen on Nov. 20, 2017. A Twitter logo is seen on a computer screen on Nov. 20, 2017.Jaap Arriens—NurPhoto/Getty Images by [Laignee Barron](/author/laignee-barron/) ## Laignee Barron Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 12, 2023 8:40 PM CUTPublished: Apr 10, 2018 4:41 AM CUT Automated “bots,” not human users, may account for most links shared on Twitter. As many as two-thirds of the tweeted links to the Internet’s most popular websites were shared by bots, according to a [new report](http://www.pewinternet.org/2018/04/09/bots-in-the-twittersphere/?utm%5Fsource=adaptivemailer&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=18-22-3:%20final%20general%20distribution%20bots%20in%20twittersphere&org=982&lvl=100&ite=2396&lea=538343&ctr=0&par=1&trk= "undefined") by the Pew Research Center. The study was limited to 1.2 million tweets from English language users sharing links to 2,315 websites. Around 90% of the links to pornographic content were tweeted by bots. Bots also proved to be far more prolific sharers when it comes to news. The 500 most-active suspected bot accounts were responsible for 22% of the tweeted links to popular news and current events sites over the six-week study period. By comparison, the 500 most-active human users were responsible for just 6% of tweeted links to news outlets. “The results illustrate the pervasive role that automated accounts play in disseminating links to a wide range of prominent websites on Twitter,” the Pew researchers said. **Read more:** [_This Self-Care Twitter Bot Is Here to Try to Make Your Online Life Healthier_](http://time.com/4573201/tiny-care-bot-self-care-twitter/ "undefined") But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, they added. Bot accounts are not limited to trolls, spammers and fake news purveyors. Netflix, the New York _Times_ and the Metropolitan Museum of Art all operate automated accounts. While there has been some concern that bots may be used to [flood social media](http://time.com/4961882/twitter-russia-linked-accounts-2016-election/ "undefined") with partisan content, the researchers found no evidence of political bias correlated with the links shared by the bots, which split fairly evenly between seemingly liberal (41%) and conservative (44%) content. “Automated Twitter accounts actually share a higher proportion of links from sites that have ideologically mixed or centrist human audiences – at least within the realm of popular news and current events sites,” the report said. The authors added that the truthfulness of the content was not examined. **_Correction:_** _The original version of this story misstated the percentage of liberal and conservative content shared by Twitter bots. Pew Research Center found that 41% of content was liberal and 44% was conservative, not 44% liberal and 41% conservative._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5234227/bots-twitter-pew-study/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5234227/bots-twitter-pew-study/"},"headline":"Bots May Be Behind Two-Thirds of Links Shared on Twitter, a New Study Finds","datePublished":"2018-04-10T04:41:03.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T20:40:30.000Z","description":"Twitter is overrun by bots, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, a new study says","url":"https://time.com/5234227/bots-twitter-pew-study/","keywords":["Tech","Social Media","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d609f43e5078862/69892d35db2987987525f54f/gettyimages-876768474.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laignee Barron","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laignee-barron/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d609f43e5078862/69892d35db2987987525f54f/gettyimages-876768474.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Social Media on Portable Devices","caption":"Social Media on Portable Devices","creditText":"Jaap Arriens—NurPhoto/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5234227/bots-twitter-pew-study/","name":"Bots May Be Behind Two-Thirds of Links Shared on Twitter, a New Study Finds"}}]}] ```