Research on social bots aims at advancing knowledge and providing solutions to one of the most debated forms of online manipulation. Yet, social bot research is plagued by widespread biases, hyped results, and misconceptions that set the stage for ambiguities, unrealistic expectations, and seemingly irreconcilable findings. Overcoming such issues is instrumental towards ensuring reliable solutions and reaffirming the validity of the scientific method. In this contribution, we review some recent results in social bots research, highlighting and revising factual errors as well as methodological and conceptual biases. More importantly, we demystify common misconceptions, addressing fundamental points on how social bots research is discussed. Our analysis surfaces the need to discuss research about online disinformation and manipulation in a rigorous, unbiased, and responsible way. This article bolsters such effort by identifying and refuting common fallacious arguments used by both proponents and opponents of social bots research, as well as providing directions toward sound methodologies for future research in the field.

翻译：社交机器人研究旨在提升认知并为最具争议性的在线操纵形式之一提供解决方案。然而，该领域普遍存在偏见、夸大研究成果及迷思，这些因素引发了概念模糊、不切实际的期望以及看似矛盾的研究发现。克服这些问题对于确保可靠解决方案的可靠性、重申科学方法的有效性至关重要。本文回顾了社交机器人领域近期部分成果，重点指出并修正了事实性错误及方法论与概念层面的偏差。更重要的是，我们揭示了普遍存在的迷思，澄清了关于社交机器人研究讨论方式的核心要点。分析表明，需以严谨、公正且负责任的方式探讨在线虚假信息与操纵相关研究。本文通过识别并驳斥社交机器人研究支持者与反对者双方常使用的错误论点，同时为该领域未来研究指明合理方法学方向，助力上述努力的推进。