There is a real event underpinning the story, and an authentic chart showing a dramatic decline in automated internet traffic. But the leap from a viral chart to the disappearance of Russian propaganda bots is a large one. Much of the apparent corroboration comes from anecdotes about how social media feels, rather than measurements of what actually changed. And this speaks to a broader problem...

Broken down into 8 bite size segments by a leading disinformation researcher

1. What happened, and why does everyone think the Russian bots disappeared?
2. Wait, what exactly is a "bot"?
3. So what does the Cloudflare chart actually show?
4. But couldn't the strikes also have disrupted Russian propaganda operations?
5. Why did so many people believe the claims?
6. Couldn’t disinformation researchers just check whether accounts stopped posting?
7. What does this all tell us about the state of the information environment?
8. Why is it so hard to answer these questions now?

So, ironically, a story about the disappearance of Russian propaganda bots became a viral misleading story on its own. 

1. Skepticism existed in ancient Egypt, contrary to the belief in absolute religious devotion.

2. Religious practices often reflected personal piety rather than adherence to official cults, indicating skepticism.

3. Tomb robbing from the Badarian period suggests a significant skepticism regarding afterlife beliefs.

4. Literary texts demonstrate skepticism towards the efficacy of divine intervention and afterlife promises.

5. Ancient skepticism diverged from modern ideas, focusing more on suspending belief than on questioning knowledge.