{
  "id": 17270373,
  "title": "Students use 'rage bait' and AI bots to sway fictional election",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/students-use-rage-bait-and-ai-bots-to-sway-fictional-election",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-30T18:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ABC News AU",
    "slug": "abc-news-au",
    "url": "https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-31/unsw-students-fake-election-ai-bots/107326784"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A group of computer engineering students are using AI bots and manipulative tactics to sway a fictional election as part of a university competition. Kaira Dumasia, a computer engineering student, explained that she plans to \"rage bait\" everyone to increase engagement on her posts. The competition, led by researchers at the University of New South Wales, pits teams against one another to manipulate a simulated social media platform and win points for grabbing attention, changing voters' views, and identifying rival teams' bots. The goal of the competition is to help students understand how AI can be used to conduct inauthentic behavior online and to learn how to detect such attacks. The fictional election, set in Kingstonia on a made-up island nation, is focused on a referendum about whether proof of vaccination against dolphin flu should be required to enter public spaces. Teams compete on a platform called Legit Social, where AI-powered citizens read and interact with posts. Points are awarded for engagement, such as posting frequently and using attention-grabbing content, as well as for correctly identifying AI bot activity.",
  "summary": "A fictional election in \"Kingstonia\" is helping students at UNSW learn how to manipulate and sway voters on social media by using AI bots.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}