The GameStop stock frenzy appears to have been largely the product of Reddit users and commercial applications like Robinhood, but some of its contributors may not have been human. According Reuters, cybersecurity company PiiQ Media determined that people were using social media bots to promote GameStop, Dogecoin and other memes investments. Posts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube jumped on trading keywords like GME (GameStop’s stock symbol) and “keep the line”, starting with the opening of the trade and appearing at the end.
There are tens of thousands of such accounts, said PiiQ.
It is not certain who is behind the bots, or how effective they have been. Reddit boss Steve Huffman told Congress at a hearing that he does not think bots played a “significant role” in the stock buying wave, although his ability to track bots outside of Reddit is limited.
The new findings may raise concerns in the same way. While Reddit activity appears to aim to punish short sellers and otherwise create a wave of exaggeration (much to the chagrin of some investors), bots raise the possibility that malicious agents have hitched a ride in the campaign. GameStop or can manipulate the market in the future. Social sites may have to step up their efforts to remove bots going forward.