Ecuador is Spending Millions on Malware, Pro-Government Trolls

Sam Woolley wrote an article about bots in Ecuador for Global Voices.

According to researchers, the upswing in the Ecuadorian government use of social media to influence public conversations and media coverage correlates with a similar rise in government-driven trolling by governments worldwide. Media watchdogs, activists and academics have been closely watching the rise Twitter propaganda in Latin American countries including Mexico, Argentina, and Venezuela.

Recent reports suggest that the use of automated computer programs, often integral to both DDoS attacks and social media manipulation, continues to grow in Ecuador. Several have called for an end to political attempts at using social bot technology to manipulate public opinion, but for now there is no clear end in sight.

The full article can be found here.