Is Disney Using Fake Accounts & Bots To Promote Disney+ Shows?
If you’re a Twitter user, aka X, you’ve probably noticed an increase in the number of random replies in the most popular posts. This is being used to boost engagement and make money.
The use of bots on Twitter is nothing new. Elon Musk has been very vocal about how many users on the social media platform aren’t real people (he previously suggested over 20% of users are bots) and that he was going to crack down on it, which ironically only seems to have gotten worse. However, the increased use of AI might have something to do with it.
Over the years, the idea that social media is being used to influence popular opinion isn’t anything new. But recent reports by MasteroftheTDS suggest that many bots are being used to promote Disney+ and its shows and films. Multiple accounts are being used to try to boost engagement of posts talking about shows like “Echo,” “Secret Invasion,” “Goosebumps”, “Doctor Who” and “What If?”
Here are some examples:
But what stands out from some of the Twitter comments is how generic they often are and sometimes have mistakes in them, like using the wrong hashtag. I’ve gone through many of the accounts of these odd posts on Twitter and found many other indications that real people aren’t posting these posts.
These posts have an odd number of replies, with some of the posts having high engagement numbers compared to other posts, which look to have been artificially boosted or in an attempt to help make certain words/hashtags trending. Plus, almost all of the replies come from accounts doing the exact same thing, with random posts.
Many of the accounts highlighted by MasteroftheTDS often feature very random but generic posts and replies, often involving Cryptocurrencies, stocks, NFTs and other businesses. Often just posting a single tweet daily, usually unrelated to other recent Tweets.
While it’s not uncommon for fans to talk about shows and films they enjoy, or for media outlets to post social media reactions ahead of reviews, using fake social media posts seems counterproductive in the long run.
However, using bots to post on social media to promote the latest film or show takes the deception to the next level. And it’s not just Disney that is using these tactics; Warner Brothers Discovery has been accused of doing the same for its most recent “Suicide Squad” video game release. And many of these accounts promoting Disney+ shows, are doing it for other platforms like Netflix.
It’s often said that the “Film Twitter” social media bubble doesn’t reflect the real world, and over the past year, Twitter has gotten considerably much worse as AI has continued to improve.
It’s unclear if Disney is using these tactics themselves or if they have hired advertising agencies to use social media to try to boost interest in the Disney+ shows. But it doesn’t look good that fake interest is having to be created on social media for Disney+. And if this is being done to promote films and shows, how much worse is this for other topics on social media, like politics or finance?
What do you think of these random bots promoting Disney+ shows? Let us know on social media!
