It’s estimated that there are now over 500 000 000 bot-run accounts on social media. They’re hard to spot because they act, speak and respond like humans, so most people don’t know they’re following a bot. From elections to Covid-19 & the vaccine; political agendas; the topic of race; covering up corruption or any other issue that affects citizens; bots are being used by powerful people, with nefarious goals, to manipulate conversations and intentionally spread disinformation that misleads, misinforms and divides people.

The rise of bots in our digital spaces therefore poses a risk to our health and safety, our democracy and to a peaceful and prosperous society. To create awareness of how bots can influence our lives, we created a mockumentary about Pete and Ronald who have connected on social media.

This #funnynotfunny short film shows what it might look like if you invited a stranger from Facebook/ Twitter into your home and then believed everything this “person” told you. Right now, the fake news and disinformation around Covid-19 and the vaccine poses a health risk to millions of people, so Pete & Ronald serve as a warning to us – be careful who you follow, because humans are easy to fool.