Thank you so much for taking the time to read my paper! The central question is what effect the rise of social bots had on the 2016 presidential election. There is already an existing conversation surrounding social bots and the 2016 presidential election. Most scholars believe that social bots helped to spread fake news during the 2016 presidential election, which influenced the election. In addition, some scholars believe that social bots inflated a candidate’s support during the election. My motive is split up into three layers. The first part of the motive is the overarching question of what effect the rise of social bots had on the 2016 presidential election. The second part of the motive is the scholarly conversation that answers the question. The third layer of the motive is the gap in the conversation. These scholars do not consider the effects social bots had in facilitating communication during the 2016 presidential election.…show more content… My unique contribution to the conversation is that I consider how social bots can be used in facilitating communication between individuals. Most scholars only mention how social bots can spread information. They do not consider the implications of social bots connecting individuals online. The following is my tentative thesis: “Similar to previous scholars, I agree that social bots allowed for the spread of fake news and created a perception that a candidate had greater support than they actual had, which influenced the 2016 presidential election. However, I add that social bots also influenced the 2016 presidential election by connecting individuals of extremist views such as racism and
