# Are LLM-Powered Social Media Bots Realistic?

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.00998 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.00998/

## Key facts

- Cited by 7 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 8 of its 18 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 1 Aug 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 8 of 8)

- [Large Language Models Empowered Agent-based Modeling and Simulation: A Survey and Perspectives](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.11970/) (2023)
- [S3: Social-network Simulation System with Large Language Model-Empowered Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.14984/) (2023)
- [LLMs generate structurally realistic social networks but overestimate political homophily](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.16629/) (2024)
- [Agent-Based Modelling Meets Generative AI in Social Network Simulations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.16031/) (2024)
- [Botometer 101: Social bot practicum for computational social scientists](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.01608/) (2022)
- [Pro or Anti? A Social Influence Model of Online Stance Flipping](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.11076/) (2021)
- [Simulation of Stance Perturbations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.08511/) (2023)
- [Leveraging GPT for the Generation of Multi-Platform Social Media Datasets for Research](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.08323/) (2024)

## Built on by (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [Emergent Coordinated Behaviors in Networked LLM Agents: Modeling the Strategic Dynamics of Information Operations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.25003/) (2025)
- [Computational Turing Test Reveals Systematic Differences Between Human and AI Language](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.04195/) (2025)
- [Towards Operational Validation of LLM-Agent Social Simulations: A Replicated Study of a Reddit-like Technology Forum](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.21740/) (2025)
- [Do Androids Dream of Unseen Puppeteers? Probing for a Conspiracy Tendencies in Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.03699/) (2025)
- [From Who They Are to How They Act: Behavioral Traits in Generative Agent-Based Models of Social Media](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.15114/) (2026)
- [A Diagnostic Framework for AI Agent Behavior](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.17149/) (2026)
- [Modeling Social Dynamics with an LLM-Enabled Agent Based Network-Dynamic (LAND) Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.00929/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

As Large Language Models (LLMs) become more sophisticated, there is a possibility to harness LLMs to power social media bots. This work investigates the realism of generating LLM-Powered social media bot networks. Through a combination of manual effort, network science and LLMs, we create synthetic bot agent personas, their tweets and their interactions, thereby simulating social media networks. We compare the generated networks against empirical bot/human data, observing that both network and linguistic properties of LLM-Powered Bots differ from Wild Bots/Humans. This has implications towards the detection and effectiveness of LLM-Powered Bots.