In this paper, we analyze the message exchange patterns that emerge when social bots and human users communicate via Twitter. In particular, we use a multilayer network to analyze the emergence of the corresponding representative and statistically significant sub-graphs (so called motifs).

Our analysis is based on two recent riot events, namely the Philadelphia Super-bowl 2018 riots and the 2017 G20 riots in Hamburg (Germany). We found that in these two events message exchanges between humans form characteristic and re-occurring communication patterns. In contrast, message exchanges including bots occur rather sporadically and do not follow a particular statistically significant pattern.

E. Kušen, M. Strembeck, On Message Exchange Motifs Emerging During Human/Bot Interactions in Multilayer Networks: The Case of Two Riot Events, In: Proc. of the 10th IEEE/ACM International Conference on Advances in Social Networks Analysis and Mining (ASONAM), Barcelona, Spain, (2018)