Coordinated inauthentic behavior and information spreading on Twitter

We explore the effects of coordinated users (i.e., users characterized by an unexpected, suspicious, or exceptional similarity) in information spreading on Twitter by quantifying the efficacy of their tactics in deceiving feed algorithms to maximize information outreach. In particular, we investigate the behavior of coordinated accounts within a large set of retweet-based information cascades identifying key differences between coordinated and non-coordinated accounts in terms of position within the cascade, action delay and outreach. On average, coordinated accounts occupy higher positions of the information cascade (i.e., closer to the root), spread messages faster and involve a slightly higher number of users. When considering cascade metrics such as size, number of edges and height, we observe clear differences among information cascades that are associated to a systematically larger proportion of coordinated accounts, as confirmed by comparisons with statistical null models. To further characterize the activity of coordinated accounts we introduce two new measures capturing their infectivity within the information cascade (i.e., their ability to involve other users) and their interaction with non-coordinated accounts. Finally, we find that the interaction pattern between the two classes of users follows a saturation-like process. A larger-scale targeting of non-coordinated users does not require a larger amount of coordinated accounts after a threshold value similar to 50%, after which involving more coordinated accounts within a cascade yields a null marginal effect. Our results contribute to shed light on the role of coordinated accounts and their effect on information diffusion.

Automated summary

This study explores the effects of coordinated users in information spreading on Twitter. The findings show that coordinated accounts tend to occupy higher positions in the information cascade, spread messages faster, and involve a slightly higher number of users. The study also introduces new measures to characterize the activity of coordinated accounts.