The Web: ‘Bots’ pushing poll results

A new form of spam is emerging this fall, called debate-spin spam, experts told UPI’s The Web. The veracity of the e-mail messages being sent as letters to the editor is coming into question, as are the timing and content of many of the messages, because a significant percentage is being generated by bots, or intelligent software agents.
“In the world of politics, there are good bots and bad bots,” said Christopher Faulkner, chief executive officer of C I Host, an online hosting service in Bedford, Texas. “There are hundreds of bots available for spamming or political use.”
For example, BotSpot.com makes available a bot known as “Mr. Smith E-Mails Washington,” which occupies a high-profile in the computing community, because it is intended for consumers to use to e-mail members of Congress. Bots also can be customized quite easily, too, and can send out millions of messages in minutes.
The Web: ‘Bots’ pushing poll results – (United Press International)

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