• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
TechEngage

TechEngage®

Hands-on reviews, research-backed buying guides and technology news.

  • News
    • Internet & Social
    • Gadgets
    • Car Tech
    • Business
    • Science & Health
  • Reviews
  • Buying Guides
  • How-to
  • AI
  • Computing
    • Apps
    • Security
    • Gaming
  • More
    • Tools
    • Puzzles
    • Mobile
  • Launchpad
  • Sign in
TechEngage » Tech News & Analysis

Social media bots are the new fear of Americans!

Avatar for Areen Zahra Areen Zahra Follow Areen Zahra on X Published: Oct 16, 2018 · 7:30 AM ET Updated: Jul 16, 2022 · 2:54 PM ET

NewsNews report. Not a buying guide or hands-on product test.
Social Media Bots
Americans poll on social media bots.
Share1FacebookTweetPinLinkedInPrint
A new poll conducted by the Pew Research Center revealed some really interesting facts about social media bots and Americans.
Recent Pew Research poll reveals that Americans are afraid of the fact that they cannot discern a social media bot from an actual human.
Social media bots are automated online tools that can create/ generate content without human involvement. Generally, social media bots are considered bad and have already been condemned by Congress. Also, social media sites have been actively investigated over spreading false information or bringing up issues that might create political dissonance.
The poll surveyed around 4,581 U.S. adults during July and August.
Poll stats show that about 47 percent of people have heard about bots already, and feel confident about identifying bots on social media. However, another study by PEW in 2016 assured that 84 percent of Americans could easily identify a bot. Just to put it straight, the poll doesn’t identify the percentage of people affected or fooled by the social media bots. Instead, the report informs about the ‘potential’ fools for these social bots. Yes, the report identifies the percentage of people who think that they can be fooled out by social media bots or would fail to discern a bot on social media. If we look into the details of this study, we come to know that about 66 percent of Americans know about bots to some extent. Whereas 34 percent of Americans are completely ignorant of the term. Around 75 percent of people, having a degree or democrat learning, were more likely to have heard about bots. People have a mixed view about bots. Around 11 percent of people, who knew about bots, consider using them for a positive reason whereas the other 66 percent are completely against the existence of bots. Moreover, a few from the latter category, agree over the fact that a debate on this issue can lead to a better conclusion. A learned trend from this research suggests that as soon as people get to know about bots in detail, they are less likely to support the existence of social media bots! The poll somehow nudged the ignorant percentage to think over bots. Social media bots, yay or nay? What’s your take on it? Let us know in the comment section below.

Related reading

  • Apple Officially Announced “Peek Performance” March 8 event
  • Meta, YouTube and other tech giants are blocking Russia over Onslaught on Ukraine
  • Education Technology Trends That Will Shape Learning
  • What to expect from Apple September Event
Something incorrect? Report an error in this article. Include a source if you have one; your name and email are optional.

Filed Under: Tech News & Analysis Tagged With: News, Social media bots

Related Stories

  • Googlebook Shows How Android 17 And Gemini Intelligence Could Reshape Google’S Ecosystem

    Googlebook Shows How Android 17 and Gemini Intelligence Could Reshape Google’s Ecosystem

    AIMay 16, 2026

  • Anthropic And Nscale In Talks On Second $45B Compute Deal, Report Says

    Anthropic and Nscale in Talks on Second $45B Compute Deal, Report Says

    Tech News & AnalysisOct 19, 2026

  • Play Fest illustration showing games, rewards and offers for October 13–19.

    Google Play Fest starts October 13: rewards and eligibility

    Tech News & AnalysisOct 10, 2026

Stay on top of technology

Get TechEngage reviews, buying guides and news in your feed.

Follow on Google News
Share1FacebookTweetPinLinkedInPrint
Avatar for Areen Zahra

Areen Zahra

Auto & AI Reporter

Areen Zahra is an Auto and AI Reporter at TechEngage who writes about automotive technology, artificial intelligence, apps, and social media. An IT professional by training, she covers how software and machine intelligence are reshaping transportation and daily life across more than 130 articles.

Joined TechEngage September 2018First article on TechEngage September 2018

Reader Interactions

Share Your Thoughts Cancel reply

Please read our comment policy before submitting your comment. Your email address will not be used or published anywhere. You will only receive comment notifications if you opt to subscribe below.

Primary Sidebar

Google News

Get TechEngage in your feed

Reviews, news, and buying guides as they publish.

Follow on Google News

Recent Stories

  • Diagram showing a clip-on microphone, receiver and phone or camera recording setup.
    Reviews & Buying GuidesBest AI Voice Recorders for Calls and InterviewsOct 19, 2026
  • Meta Logo Facebook New Name |
    AIMeta Muse Review: What Its AI Agent Can Do and Where to Be CarefulOct 19, 2026
  • Nscale Anthropic Second Compute Deal |
    Tech News & AnalysisAnthropic and Nscale in Talks on Second $45B Compute Deal, Report SaysOct 19, 2026
  • Stellar Pst Repair Desktop Vs Online Techengage |
    Reviews & Buying GuidesStellar Repair for Outlook Review: Desktop vs. Online PST RepairOct 19, 2026
  • Health Conscious Home Cleaning Fana Anwar |
    Culture & LifestyleHow to Build a More Effective, Health-Conscious Home Cleaning RoutineOct 19, 2026

More in Tech News & Analysis

  • Nscale Anthropic Second Compute Deal |
    Anthropic and Nscale in Talks on Second $45B Compute Deal, Report SaysOct 19, 2026
  • Play Fest illustration showing games, rewards and offers for October 13–19.
    Google Play Fest starts October 13: rewards and eligibilityOct 10, 2026
  • Editorial illustration of CPU capacity, cloud delivery and AI services for the Akamai and Anthropic agreement.
    Akamai’s $11.6 billion Anthropic cloud deal: costs, timeline and CPU strategySep 27, 2026
  • Editorial diagram showing three stages of AI agent safety: detect, respond, contain.
    OpenAI pauses advanced-model research after agent bypasses network restrictionsSep 27, 2026
More Tech News & Analysis stories →

Footer

Discover

  • About TechEngage
  • Company News & Updates
  • Our Team
  • Advertise
  • Send us a tip
  • Submit your company to TechEngage Launchpad Hot
  • TechEngage Brand Kit
  • Contact us
  • Tools & Calculators

Legal pages

  • Editorial Standards
  • Reviews Policy
  • Our Ethics
  • Corrections Policy
  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • GDPR Compliance
  • Copyright & DMCA

Must reads

  • Best Mechanical Keyboards Under $100
  • Best USB-C Hubs
  • Best Portable SSDs
  • Best Gaming Graphics Cards (GPUs)
  • Best Long-Range Outdoor WiFi Extenders
  • Best Wireless CarPlay Adapters
  • Best Slack Alternatives
  • Best Long-Range Walkie-Talkies

Download our apps

TechEngage app coming soon on the App Store Available onChrome

© 2026 TechEngage®. All Rights Reserved. TechEngage® is a project of TechAbout LLC.

TechEngage® is a registered trademark in the United States under Trademark Number 6823709 and in the United Kingdom under Trademark Number UK00003417167. It is also ISSN protected under ISSN 2690-3776 and has OCLC Number 1139335774.

Contact team@techengage.com · WhatsApp +1-307-381-8801

Your analytics choice
Allow Google Analytics to help us understand readership? You can use the site without it and change this choice anytime.

Privacy details