Well put.
I'd like to see more on this; as you describe it, the result is to almost reproduce aspects of traditional channels for the mass dissemination of information.
Whereas that model was (is) based on there being a small number of active broadcasters transmitting to a large number of passive recipients, this practice seeks to introduce the same dynamic into social media by creating the appearance of mass consensus or to magnify the impact of a single, controlled, message in a manner that appears organic.
RE: Why Are People Acting Like Twitter Bots?