Are you arguing with a bot? So, you live and breathe online and couldn’t how to find a russian bot happier about it. But maybe, just maybe, your daily digital interactions across the social web aren’t quite as authentic as you thought. No, this time around it’s not the algorithm’s fault, but rather the result of a different kind of bad actor mucking up the works: bots.

The automated scourge has invaded practically every platform you love, and isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Despite what basically any quick scan of Twitter or Facebook might suggest, however, the surest way to beat the bots isn’t to argue with them. That means you’re going to need to be able to spot them in the wild. Bots, bots, everywhere These days bots are an inescapable part of online life. Just last year researchers estimated that Twitter alone was home to around 30 million of them. There are automated spam accounts on Instagram, Facebook, and pretty much everywhere else. Some appear designed to intentionally rile us up or to support specific political candidates, while others have purposes less clear.

While the goals of their creators may vary, there are telltale signs that many bots share. If you can identify these, you can better armor yourself against their onslaught. Fair warning: Doing so isn’t always easy. Spot the bot Some automated accounts will be easy to identify as such.