Ubiquitous Duplicity: Engagement Monetization in Bot-Run Telegram Misinformation Farms

• In Event: Media Ecosystems and the Diffusion of Contested Ideas

Abstract

Despite being hotbeds for political conspiracy content, the misinformation economies of alternative social media platforms have not been adequately examined. What is the structure of misinformation economies on non-algorithmic platforms, and what incentivizes their production? The academic literature on online misinformation largely focuses on mainstream platforms like Facebook, X, and YouTube. This research emphasizes the role of predictive algorithms in both spreading and monetizing misinformation. From 2019 to 2021, millions of American conspiracy believers migrated to alternative platforms like Telegram and Parler, neither of which use algorithms to curate content. Advancing a manualized version of the network map methodology used by Urman & Katz (2022) and drawing from data on over 570 QAnon-related Telegram channels, I identify and analyze three bounded conspiracy communities. Rather than spreading a particular ideology or conspiratorial worldview, these communities are designed to optimize the monetization of engagement with misinformation. Tracking these communities over six months, I analyze the various ways by which anonymous Telegram creators structure their communities, using pre-coded chatbots to post and repost content and even build automated interactive experiences that maximize engagement from their small but highly dedicated audiences. Framing this analysis within the context of Telegram's unique digital architecture, this contributes to the literature by highlighting some of the many methods of misinformation monetization which can occur in online spaces that are not moderated by predictive algorithms.

Author

• Skyler Kelley Duval, University of Minnesota