The 2016 US elections will be a landmark in many ways. One of those ways is because of the used of bots by news companies in delivering the event. Now, more than ever, non-human means of telling the news is getting more exposure. Bots will likely break the 2016 US elections results as well.
Automated journalism, which relies mainly on the use of bots, has been used for quite some time now. This year bots will have more use than ever before. A number of news sites, as well as social media, have been using bots. This has made delivering the news much faster, and its use has been made much more through the use of programs and apps.
Some examples of this are already in place. The New York Times and Facebook have used it this year, for instance. Bots have also been used to give daily and even hourly updates. The use of bots has especially prolific among younger audiences.
New York Times product director Andrew Phelps said that bot users now are younger and have a more global usage. This is over the more traditional readers of the New York Times, he observed. The use of bots has made the news more interactive in some ways. With the use of bots more people are going to news sites as well, according to Phys Org.
Not only are news sites using bots. Social media such as Twitter and Facebook are using bots as well. Twitter bots, in particular, are seen to have been influencing how people regard the elections. Such bots, as used by different groups, could make people read more about issues and candidates through the messages posted.
Political candidates have been taking advantage of the use of Twitter bots, as The Atlantic notes. Such use can polarize people according to issues and party lines. Such use of bots and social media solidify people's viewpoints and ideologies. It has been speculated that both political sides have been using social media bots to try and influence people.
Bots have become the new propaganda tool. It can strengthen people who have the same viewpoints and ideologies, and can also silence critics and those with opposing views. This has been done by both candidates as they use tweets for and against one another.
As social media and the internet become even more influential, the use of bots will grow even more. This might be seen this year as bots will break the 2016 US elections results, and can be seen in the coming years as well. Earlier, a report states that a Trump Presidency might likely cancel the Paris climate deal.