#109 - Samantha Bradshaw

About this episode

<p><a href="https://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/samantha-bradshaw/">Samantha Bradshaw</a> is a researcher at the <a href="https://comprop.oii.ox.ac.uk/">Computational Propaganda Project</a> and a doctoral candidate at the <a href="https://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/">Oxford Internet Institute</a>. She’s been tracking the phenomenon of political manipulation through social media.<br><br>You can find Samantha on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/sbradshaww">@sbradshaww</a>.<br><br>The YC podcast is hosted by <a href="https://twitter.com/craigcannon">Craig Cannon</a>.<br><br>***<br><br><b>Topics</b><br><br>:53 - What is a bot?<br><br>2:53 - When computational propaganda began<br><br>3:53 - Changes in bot tactics since 2016<br><br>5:53 - Using bots for content creation<br><br>7:28 - WhatsApp and the upcoming Indian election<br><br>9:23 - Trends in computational propaganda<br><br>10:53 - How bots integrate into platforms<br><br>13:23 - Responsibilities of platforms to remove fake accounts<br><br>14:53 - The role of governments in media manipulation<br><br>18:18 - Fake news and selecting news that aligns with your beliefs<br><br>19:53 - Are platforms getting better or worse?<br><br>21:33 - Samantha's personal internet habits<br><br>23:03 - Sentiment around tracking in the UK vs the US<br><br>24:23 - The Mueller report and US midterms<br><br>29:18 - Canadian elections<br><br>30:18 - 2020 US elections<br><br>30:53 - Deepfakes<br><br>31:48 - Optimistic thoughts for the future<br><br>33:08 - How to help against computational propaganda<br></p>