As the election date became clear, public opinion polls and polls gained importance for the parties.
While the reliability of the survey companies before the elections in the past was the subject of discussion, the accuracy of the surveys made on social media is added to these.
So much so that it is possible to manipulate (virtual) surveys with bot accounts. Informatics experts point out that thousands of bot accounts have been purchased for fees ranging from a thousand TL to 100 thousand TL and underline that the surveys are very open to manipulation.
VIRTUAL VOTES CAN BE PURCHASED WITH PRICES STARTING FROM 1,000 TL
With the election approaching, the competition in the political arena started to heat up. Both political parties and social media users open surveys on many social media channels, especially Twitter, and so-called citizens' pulses are measured. But these polls cause more manipulation than actual polling with bot accounts (virtual).
Even if the people who opened the survey are not aware of it, the statistics can be changed by buying votes from outside. By purchasing 1,000 to 100,000 survey votes for a certain fee from the virtual markets created by some websites, the statistical data in the survey option can be changed by being guided by bot accounts, which are not real. Thanks to the process that does not require any expertise, the survey opened on social media is directed as desired and misleading information is given to the citizens.
“There is a problem with the fact that the survey data is realistic and reliable”
Saying that the survey data were changed by directing virtual accounts, IT expert Şener Kul said, "The survey system exists in similar social media platforms today. But the important thing is that there is a problem with the fact that the survey data here is realistic and reliable. Unfortunately, you can't manage everything on social media. Here, artificial perceptions or bubble agendas that are not different can be created very easily."
"Recently, many popular accounts on Twitter have started to open political polls because our agenda is politics. When there is a survey, even if the organizers do not do it, the followers of the people in the survey options or the people who set their hearts on it can change the survey options with external interventions, either with good intentions or with malicious intent. There are purchases related to voting options in the polls. You can buy whichever vote option you want as the number of numbers", he added.
“UNFORTUNATELY, SUCH ISSUES CANNOT BE AVOIDED WITH SUCH PLATFORMS”
Emphasizing that social media platforms cannot prevent such issues, Kul said, "These are done very simply. You share the survey link. After determining which survey option you want to send data to, after making the payment as much as the number of surveys, for example, when 100 thousand items are directed to the 'B' option, the 'B' option increases 100 thousand votes. Naturally, the reliability of the survey is lost. Unfortunately, such issues cannot be avoided with regard to such platforms. Because in the first place, platforms have to get ahead of them. However, with current technology, this does not seem possible."