Automating fandom: Social bots, music celebrity, and identity online

Abstract

In an analysis of the intersection of media and politics through the increased presence of social bots on social media platforms like Twitter, it becomes evident that years before internet bots were used for geopolitical cyberconflict, fan communities online were already subject to these forces in driving user engagement for music brands and celebrities. Fan scholars must interrogate the presence of these bot networks for their impact on online fan cultural activity.

Keywords

• digital fan communities
• fan labor
• identity
• identity politics
• pop music
• social media
• twitter