How do bots affect online surveys and polls, and what can be done to ensure data integrity?

Bots compromise the integrity of online surveys and polls by artificially inflating responses, skewing data, and manipulating results. They can be programmed to submit multiple entries or vote in a way that benefits a particular party. Safeguards to ensure accurate results include using CAPTCHA verification to detect bots, monitoring IP addresses to identify suspicious activity, limiting responses per device or user, and employing advanced algorithms to weed out fraudulent responses. Conducting post-survey analysis to identify anomalies and outliers can also help in detecting potential bot interference.