
How AI Swarms Could Make Social Media Intolerable | UnSpun Journal Club
From Unspun by Amanda Sturgill
May 12, 2026 · 19 min
About this episode
This episode discusses the implications of malicious AI swarms on democracy and social media.
In this UnSpun Journal Club episode, Dr Sturg looks at a recent paper on what malicious AI swarms could mean for democracy, public debate, and social media itself. They could borrow from the older playbook of harassment and sealioning, made worse as agentic AI systems can imitate people, flood conversations, and manufacture the appearance of consensus. The question is not just whether AI can generate convincing content. It is whether it can reshape what people think is real. Find the paper here. Check out Dr. Sturg's book with tips on how you can spot fake news. Follow Dr. Sturg on Bluesky Find short videos on detecting deception from Dr. Sturg Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
People in this episode
Host: Dr Sturg
Topics covered
- AI swarms
- social media
- democracy
- public debate
- fake news
- harassment
- sealioning
Keywords
- AI swarms
- social media
- democracy
- fake news
- public debate
- harassment
- sealioning
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Bluesky
Books & works: UnSpun Journal Club
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