"How bot activity fueled the rebrand backlash The most interesting part of this story never made headlines - likely overshadowed by the president's comments that turned the rebrand into a politicized moment. What was largely missing from the uproar was the real source of the rapid outrage: bots. According to the Wall Street Journal, bots posing as real users drove a disproportionate share of the social chatter that media outlets picked up."
"By August 20, the day after the launch, X saw about 400 Cracker Barrel posts every minute. Molly Dwyer, director of insights at PeakMetrics, said 70% of accounts posting used duplicate messages, with some repeating the same text dozens of times - a clear sign of bot activity. Nearly 45% of Cracker Barrel posts on X during that 24-hour surge were estimated to be bot-generated. PeakMetrics also reported that almost half of all posts calling for a boycott came from bots."
Prophet, a prominent branding firm founded by Scott Galloway and Ian Chaplen with David Aaker as vice chairman, led the Cracker Barrel rebrand before being fired and the old brand restored. Prophet is known for rigorous research, disciplined strategy, and work for A-list clients. The swift public outrage was heavily amplified by bots rather than solely by genuine users. PeakMetrics found 70% of accounts used duplicate messages and estimated nearly 45% of posts during the surge were bot-generated. High-follower human accounts sparked the initial backlash, which bots quickly magnified, and foreign actors often exploit politicized audiences to stoke tension.
Read at MarTech
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