Automated social media accounts are being used by both sides in the Brexit debate, a new report shows, with some experts fearing that a sudden surge in activity by the “bots” could influence the referendum vote.

Researchers from Oxford University and Budapest’s Corvinus University have found that bots are playing a “small but strategic role” in the social media conversation around Britain’s referendum on European Union (EU) membership, the report released Monday explained.

Note: This post was originally published on the Political Bots research blog on . It might have been updated since then in its original location. The post gives the views of the author(s), and not necessarily the position of the Oxford Internet Institute.