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If this isn't black-hat, what is? Specifically, an author not disclosing an affiliation or payment, fake accounts promoting it, and fake accounts commenting on
by troydavis 6y ago
If this isn't black-hat, what is? Specifically, an author not disclosing an affiliation or payment, fake accounts promoting it, and fake accounts commenting on those promotions. In the continuum between white and black, what's left on the black side? :-)
- twmahna 6y agoSome examples that come to mind: click fraud, phishing, malware.
- bilbo0s 6y agoThat doesn't preclude the techniques we're discussing here, it only adds other techniques to the black hat tool box.
- ineedasername 6y agoI think the point is that those activities are clearly "black hat", while astroturfing isn't inherently illegal. (well, maybe in some jurisdictions it is. I seem to recall that the UK has much stricter "truth in advertising" laws than the US) It all exists on a spectrum though, and we can disagree on where the line for black hat is drawn, with no one being wrong because it's a matter of opinion.
- bootcampwhere 6y agoYou dummy. How about actual fraud? Hijacking sites, puting in secret back links. Paying for content is not black hat.
- duskwuff 6y agoOutright spam, like forum and blog comments. Exploiting web sites, or abusing trust relationships (like updates to WordPress plugins or browser extensions) to inject spam into legitimate pages, or to create entire networks of spam pages within unaware sites. Launching deliberately obvious spam campaigns to discredit competing sites. That's black-hat SEO -- where the behavior itself is probably illegal, even without the intent.
- BryanBigs 6y agoDont forget SAPE. When I heard of that I knew the SEO world was rougher than I had previously imagined. For those that don't know, its a Russian run marketplace for link injected/hacked sites. Really big, high quality sites.
- pathseeker 6y agoSQL injections, vulnerability exploits, or other hijacking mechanisms to inject links directly. In my mind, using a system as designed without breaking any laws lands in grey-hat territory.
- Reebz 6y agoIt is more commonly known as Astroturfing
- gimboland 6y agoWell, fuck it.
- Red_Leaves_Flyy 6y agoRelevant, I think: https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/disclosures-101-social-media-influencers https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/dis...