Call It Grift Drift

The one thing I wish she'd mentioned is the probability that the bots are programmed to pick up on anything that promotes division or chaos, or the kind of content that can be refined into pro-plutocracy propaganda.

I think what we're seeing online is a phenomenon of popular inertia - The Bandwagon Effect - or something along those lines.

People see the "great response" to whatever pops up on their social media feed, and they assume it must be good because, holy crap - just look at how much traffic this guy's getting. And cynical manipulators are quick to exploit it.

I got my first inkling of this years ago when talking with my late ex-mother-in-law. I asked her who she'd be voting for, and she told me, "I don't know - I don't know who all my friends are going to vote for yet."

Remember the Ford Pinto!