11 ms·

It's strange but it appears that Reddit may be astroturfing their own site: https://www.reddit.com/r/Save3rdPartyApps/comments/140gd1y/bot_army_in_full_effect_t

It's strange but it appears that Reddit may be astroturfing their own site: https://www.reddit.com/r/Save3rdPartyApps/comments/140gd1y/bot_army_in_full_effect_to_downplay_the_changes/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Save3rdPartyApps/comments/140gd1y/b...

Eupolemos 3y ago
I am unable to watch this on my phone. It says "either you watch this page in the official reddit app or not at all".
- deadbolt 3y ago
  It's a screenshot of multiple accounts posting the same thing. This link is the content of the post: https://i.redd.it/bot-army-in-full-effect-to-downplay-the-changes-already-v0-81c2latfr04b1.png?s=966d34f8f120335a03bd4c2937c14b52eb508576 https://i.redd.it/bot-army-in-full-effect-to-downplay-the-ch...
- Akronymus 3y ago
  Use old.reddit
- technion 3y ago
  That's not an issue with the link, that's the Reddit behaviour for most links to the site in general when accessed over a mobile device.
retsibsi 3y ago
This would be a weirdly clumsy approach for Reddit to take. I don't know whether they're too ethical to do something like this, but surely they're too competent to do it in such a silly way. Simplest explanation is someone else did it, perhaps to frame Reddit or perhaps for a more boring spambot-related reason.
- dvngnt_ 3y ago
  the CEO admitted to editing a user's comment in a fit of rage
  - andrewinardeer 3y ago
    > in a drunken fit of rage.
  - geysersam 3y ago
    Why would the CEO even have that ability? Just comes across as unhygienic.
    - fsckboy 3y ago
      it was a loooong time ago when the CEO was one of the original coders
      - clydethefrog 3y ago
        It was in 2016. Pretty sure he wasn't coding anymore. https://www.theverge.com/2016/11/23/13739026/reddit-ceo-steve-huffman-edit-comments https://www.theverge.com/2016/11/23/13739026/reddit-ceo-stev...
  - retsibsi 3y ago
    That was an impulsive act (in reaction to people who had been abusing him personally), with no strategy behind it and serving no particular goal. If something like that is done at all, it's not very surprising that it's done in a clumsy way. Here the allegation is that Reddit is systematically astroturfing itself with the goal of shaping user opinion. But they're choosing to do it in a way that is very easy to detect (the comments are 100% identical, and as a bonus they all come from usernames that are recognisably automatically generated) and apparently completely ineffective (the comments mostly have -1 points, with a maximum of 1). And the only evidence is something that could have been easily done by absolutely anyone.
l-p 3y ago
They are. We caught "community builders" making disingenuous posts trying to pass reposted/translated content as OC to generate engagement. After getting caught doing so with their admin accounts they tried again using normal users. They also had the bright idea to spam users via DM using a poorly templated message (verbatim "insert u/USERNAME") to promote localized copies of low-quality subs (the kind of trash you see on r/all).
- ciex 3y ago
  This is how Reddit started. In the very beginning of the site the founders had a couple of accounts they would use to put content on the site. It's in Reddit's DNA so to speak.
- Drawde 3y ago
  For anyone wanting further information about this: https://old.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/13p889x/reddit_admins_were_just_caught_using_bots_or_fake/ https://old.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/13p889x/red...
ecf 3y ago
> Unreviewed content > This community has not been reviewed and might contain content inappropriate for certain viewers. View in the Reddit app to continue. Reddit is trying so hard to keep this under control.
raydev 3y ago
It's not even a popular comment? I think this is just normal spambot behavior, picking up a random phrase that's in a hot topic and running with it for a bit.
- operatingthetan 3y ago
  This is a new sub specifically for this topic. I forget some people literally just read the popular subs...

Eupolemos 3y ago

I am unable to watch this on my phone. It says "either you watch this page in the official reddit app or not at all".

deadbolt 3y ago
It's a screenshot of multiple accounts posting the same thing. This link is the content of the post: https://i.redd.it/bot-army-in-full-effect-to-downplay-the-changes-already-v0-81c2latfr04b1.png?s=966d34f8f120335a03bd4c2937c14b52eb508576 https://i.redd.it/bot-army-in-full-effect-to-downplay-the-ch...
Akronymus 3y ago
Use old.reddit
technion 3y ago
That's not an issue with the link, that's the Reddit behaviour for most links to the site in general when accessed over a mobile device.

retsibsi 3y ago

This would be a weirdly clumsy approach for Reddit to take. I don't know whether they're too ethical to do something like this, but surely they're too competent to do it in such a silly way. Simplest explanation is someone else did it, perhaps to frame Reddit or perhaps for a more boring spambot-related reason.

dvngnt_ 3y ago
the CEO admitted to editing a user's comment in a fit of rage
- andrewinardeer 3y ago
  > in a drunken fit of rage.
- geysersam 3y ago
  Why would the CEO even have that ability? Just comes across as unhygienic.
  - fsckboy 3y ago
    it was a loooong time ago when the CEO was one of the original coders
    - clydethefrog 3y ago
      It was in 2016. Pretty sure he wasn't coding anymore. https://www.theverge.com/2016/11/23/13739026/reddit-ceo-steve-huffman-edit-comments https://www.theverge.com/2016/11/23/13739026/reddit-ceo-stev...
- retsibsi 3y ago
  That was an impulsive act (in reaction to people who had been abusing him personally), with no strategy behind it and serving no particular goal. If something like that is done at all, it's not very surprising that it's done in a clumsy way. Here the allegation is that Reddit is systematically astroturfing itself with the goal of shaping user opinion. But they're choosing to do it in a way that is very easy to detect (the comments are 100% identical, and as a bonus they all come from usernames that are recognisably automatically generated) and apparently completely ineffective (the comments mostly have -1 points, with a maximum of 1). And the only evidence is something that could have been easily done by absolutely anyone.

l-p 3y ago

They are. We caught "community builders" making disingenuous posts trying to pass reposted/translated content as OC to generate engagement. After getting caught doing so with their admin accounts they tried again using normal users. They also had the bright idea to spam users via DM using a poorly templated message (verbatim "insert u/USERNAME") to promote localized copies of low-quality subs (the kind of trash you see on r/all).

ciex 3y ago
This is how Reddit started. In the very beginning of the site the founders had a couple of accounts they would use to put content on the site. It's in Reddit's DNA so to speak.
Drawde 3y ago
For anyone wanting further information about this: https://old.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/13p889x/reddit_admins_were_just_caught_using_bots_or_fake/ https://old.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/13p889x/red...

ecf 3y ago

> Unreviewed content > This community has not been reviewed and might contain content inappropriate for certain viewers. View in the Reddit app to continue. Reddit is trying so hard to keep this under control.

raydev 3y ago

It's not even a popular comment? I think this is just normal spambot behavior, picking up a random phrase that's in a hot topic and running with it for a bit.

operatingthetan 3y ago
This is a new sub specifically for this topic. I forget some people literally just read the popular subs...