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The Web: 'Bots' pushing poll results
United Press International ^ | October 13, 2004 | Gene Koprowski

Posted on 10/13/2004 11:14:09 AM PDT by kerrywearsbotox

By Gene J. Koprowski United Press International

Published 10/13/2004 12:26 PM CHICAGO, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush and Sen. John F. Kerry will walk across the stage Wednesday night and greet each other at the beginning of the third and final presidential debate. Already, across the country, e-mail messages are arriving in newsroom inboxes declaring a winner. 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. "For these political-action groups, many of them probably set up their own in-house servers," Faulkner told The Web. "All it takes is a little know how and a little bandwidth."During the first presidential debate, OpinionJournal.com, published by The Wall Street Journal, reported its letters editor received about 3,500 e-mails. The Washington Post wrote an editorial about the influx of e-mail it received, some declaring a winner to the debate before it had even commenced. E-mail sciencemail@upi.com

(Excerpt) Read more at upi.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Extended News; News/Current Events; Technical
KEYWORDS: bots; debates; politics; poll; web
This is a great story about how bots are influencing elections.
1 posted on 10/13/2004 11:14:13 AM PDT by kerrywearsbotox
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To: kerrywearsbotox

I doubt they're influencing elections. What the news media needs to do is refuse to put up silly internet polls on "Who won?" the debates.


2 posted on 10/13/2004 11:16:10 AM PDT by My2Cents (http://www.conservativesforbush.com)
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To: kerrywearsbotox
This is a great story about how bots are influencing elections.

Yes it is -- and paragraphs are our friend :-)

3 posted on 10/13/2004 11:16:21 AM PDT by Condor51 (May God have mercy upon my enemies, I won't. -- Gen G. Patton Jr)
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To: My2Cents

Why the emphisis on online poll voting? I never viewed them as scientific and if they sway heavily in either direction, especially when its about debates, I will scoff at it.

Anyone with half a brain can make this conclusion when surfing. Why the DNC makes this an important tool is beyond me


4 posted on 10/13/2004 11:20:03 AM PDT by smith288 (Only if Al Qaeda was a debate team would they be scared of Kerry... Bush 04)
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To: kerrywearsbotox

Any programmers out there who want to create a few bots and distribute them to the FR Army?

Come on I KNOW there are some coders reading this. Do the right thing and help s battle the liberal dirty tricks.


5 posted on 10/13/2004 11:20:06 AM PDT by myself6 (Nazi = socialist , democrat=socialist , therefore democrat = Nazi)
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To: kerrywearsbotox

You've been here 2 weeks and already abused the "Post Article" button. :P


6 posted on 10/13/2004 11:21:14 AM PDT by BigSkyFreeper (Real gun control is - all shots inside the ten ring)
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To: My2Cents
"I doubt they're influencing elections."

I don't think they are either. The polls after the last debate were so skewed, you knew they were just the democrats having a circle jerk.

7 posted on 10/13/2004 11:22:23 AM PDT by CarolAnn (If we aren't supposed to shoot animals, then why did God make them out of meat?)
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To: kerrywearsbotox

8 posted on 10/13/2004 11:22:43 AM PDT by atomicpossum (If there are two Americas, John Edwards isn't qualified to lead either of them.©)
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To: myself6

If all of a sudden, the polls shifted 98% in Bush's favor, the media will disregard the poll.


9 posted on 10/13/2004 11:26:10 AM PDT by BigSkyFreeper (Real gun control is - all shots inside the ten ring)
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To: kerrywearsbotox

Zot the bots!


10 posted on 10/13/2004 11:27:10 AM PDT by tdadams ('Unfit for Command' is full of lies... it quotes John Kerry)
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To: kerrywearsbotox
"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.

Faulkner is an idiot.
There's no such thing as a "good" bot.
Bots are nonethinking, progammed automatons.
They don't even rise to the level of being subhuman.

11 posted on 10/13/2004 11:32:00 AM PDT by Willie Green (Go Pat Go!!!)
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To: BigSkyFreeper

"If all of a sudden, the polls shifted 98% in Bush's favor, the media will disregard the poll." --


LOL.. If the polls shifted any in Bush's favor, the media will disregard the poll.


12 posted on 10/13/2004 11:35:08 AM PDT by msp2004
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To: kerrywearsbotox

I'm just glad that an MSM entity (UPI) has finally pulled its collective thumb out and informed its readers about "automated spin".


13 posted on 10/13/2004 11:45:32 AM PDT by macbee ("Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." - Napoleon Bonaparte)
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To: My2Cents

"I doubt they're influencing elections. What the news media needs to do is refuse to put up silly internet polls on "Who won?" the debates."

All that is needed is to enter the code listed on the page and the bots will be rendered useless.


14 posted on 10/13/2004 11:51:03 AM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (Control the information given to society and you control society.)
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To: CarolAnn

That didn't stop the pundits from quoting them...Chrissy quoted the 70-30 win to his rat audience and the crowd went wild...he never said that the poll was suspect.


15 posted on 10/13/2004 11:55:49 AM PDT by mystery-ak (Why don't they make toilet paper in colors anymore?)
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To: My2Cents

Actually I see many leftist attempting to use the "data" gathered from these tainted polls to form their arguments. Even though they know full well how manipulated the results are.


16 posted on 10/13/2004 11:58:33 AM PDT by Tempest (Click on my name for a long list of press contacts)
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To: smith288

Anyone with half a brain can make this conclusion when surfing. Why the DNC makes this an important tool is beyond me

DNC makes it an important tool because if they bot the polls and get the MSM to announce Kerry won (by way of online polling results) then it energizes their party...that simple...they then want to convince Americans that Kerry is more presidential and a "winner"...debates are not what will make a great president it is their record,character..but for now they are doing anything to get their guy in office...desperate and crooked!


17 posted on 10/13/2004 12:04:38 PM PDT by IndianPrincessOK (Native American pleading for Truth!)
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To: kerrywearsbotox

They are influencing the little girls in the media who want to be popular and spin debates in Kerry's favor. Nobody else is fooled.


18 posted on 10/13/2004 12:06:42 PM PDT by mabelkitty (W is the Peoples' President ; Kerry is the Elite Establishment's President)
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To: kerrywearsbotox
They're influencing the election, all right, but not in the manner the morons think.

Fortunately, the only polls that counts are in November.

19 posted on 10/13/2004 12:16:40 PM PDT by Publius6961 (The most abundant things in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity.)
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To: kerrywearsbotox
Oh yes, I am eager to make sure all these polls go Kerry, 112%; Bush,(-12%).

Yup, that will make the DU-ers wet their knickers.

20 posted on 10/13/2004 12:19:38 PM PDT by Publius6961 (The most abundant things in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity.)
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