Does surge in anonymous Twitter users mean Asia has been hit by ‘botmageddon’?
Some suspect the mysterious rise in new accounts is linked to imminent elections across the region and part of a plan to sway voters
It has been being jokingly referred to as “botmageddon”. But a surge in new, anonymous Twitter accounts across swathes of Southeast and East Asia has deepened fears the region is in the throes of US-style mass social media manipulation.
Maya Gilliss-Chapman, a Cambodian tech entrepreneur currently working in Silicon Valley, noticed something odd was happening in early April.
Her Twitter account @MayaGC was being swamped by a daily deluge of follows from new users.
“I acquired well over 1,000 new followers since the beginning of March. So, that’s approximately a 227 per cent increase in just a month,” she said.
While many might delight in such a popularity spike, Gilliss-Chapman, who has previously worked for tech companies to root out spam, was immediately suspicious.