Social media bots and Russian trolls are spreading misinformation about vaccines on Twitter , according to new research.
A significant amount of the online discussion about vaccines may be generated by bots and trolls with the aim of promoting discord, says the research led by George Washington University (GW).
The tactics revealed by the research are similar to those used during the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, with some anti-vaccination tweets even coming from the same Russia-linked accounts.
"Whereas bots that spread malware and unsolicited content disseminated anti-vaccine messages, Russian trolls promoted discord," concluded the study .