Humans, not bots, spread Twitter conspiracies after Parkland shooting

A memorial for those at Parkland — People spread conspiracies on Twitter after the Parkland mass shooting

By Chris Baraniuk

When the gunman who attacked students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, this February stopped shooting, 17 people were left dead or fatally injured. The outcome was devastating.

To add insult to injury, shortly after the tragedy, Twitter bots began sending out emotionally charged quips and conspiracy theories about what took place. However, a retrospective analysis of those tweets suggests that humans were the ones who spread them furthest.

A team at the University of South Carolina …

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