Analysis of behavioral features and emotional contagion pathways of social bots from a social network perspective: a case study of the Xinjiang cotton controversy

Abstract Study purpose This research investigates how social bots participate in and shape public opinion through behavioral patterns and emotional contagion, using the “Xinjiang Cotton” Twitter discourse as a case study. It aims to advance empirical understanding of bot–human interaction dynamics in geographically sensitive online discourse. Methodology Combining social network analysis, LDA topic modeling, sentiment analysis and non-parametric statistical testing, we examined 6,781 Chinese-language tweets from March 24, 2021 to March 31, 2021. We used Botometer to identify bot accounts, while Gephi was employed to visualize interaction networks. Emotional expressions were examined with the Dalian University of Technology sentiment dictionary, and differences between user groups were further tested using the Mann–Whitney U test. Main findings Bots comprised 49.1 % of active users, exhibiting high retweet volumes (68 % of posts) and content homogeneity. They formed clustered networks and exhibited lower levels of positive emotional expression compared with human users, while no significant difference was found in negative emotion. Emotional convergence was observed within bot clusters as well as across human–bot interactions. Multi-level emotional contagion occurred both within bot/human groups and across bots and humans. Social implications Bot participation in emotionally charged discourse may influence public perception and contribute to polarization in transnational communication, particularly in geopolitically sensitive contexts. Their ability to amplify divisive narratives risks eroding public trust in digital spaces. Practical implications Platforms should prioritize multi-dimensional bot detection (e.g., activity patterns, network structures, and emotional signals) over simple metrics. Policymakers must establish cross-border regulations, while educators should develop media literacy programs addressing emotional manipulation. Originality/value This study integrates network visualization with sentiment-labeled edges and statistical testing to examine emotional contagion pathways. It provides the first systematic analysis of China-related bot behavior in Western platforms, offering methodological and contextual advancements for computational propaganda research.