Twitter shuts down spambots spreading pro-Saudi hashtags related to Khashoggi disappearance

Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is receiving some unexpected help from erectile dysfunction pill spammers.

There's been an intense online campaign playing out over Twitter in the past week to control the narrative surrounding the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

A combination of human influencers, automated political accounts, and spambots have been working together — some willingly, some not — to defend the Crown Prince and the Saudi regime over their suspected role in Khashoggi's disappearance.

Twitter has since informed NBC News that it has suspended the accounts involved with the bot network from its platform. Read more...