It’s mentioned in this really good Verge article about SEO. I don’t think it’s a good sign for Reddit to just allow such blatant spam and makes me think how much subtler spam is out there too.
I’ve personally noticed more a few times in old threads you’ll find a comment made months later that’s recommending a product.
I’m not clicking a link to that site to get any additional context, but “Bots talking to bots” for the sake of stealth/viral advertising has been happening on Reddit for at least a decade (and almost certainly longer). Sorry this will be a novel of a comment.
My awakening happened when I noticed a specific trend of posts and comments in subs related to things like nutritional supplements, personal grooming, and things of that nature and it would be most easily detected in small subs with low user activity.
I’d see a post like “I need to find a new body wash, has anybody tried BoShiWah?” It would usually be the most highly upvoted thread in the sub with far more comments and replies than anything else in the sub. Comments were all posted within minutes of each other and shortly after the post was submitted, which would be highly unusual for a sub that only gets a few posts a week. These submissions would all be highly upvoted. The “conversations” would all be positive regarding the product and/or ask questions about it that would sound suspiciously like the script from a tv or radio commercial. And there would always be at least one comment like “where are you planning to buy it from” with a reply that contained a link to a vendor or someone saying something like “XYZ company has it on sale right now, here’s the link”.
I got curious and started looking at the specific user accounts involved in these posts and the comments/replies. It was a never ending supply of different accounts, some new, some old. The part that surprised me is that these accounts were also active and doing the exact same thing in larger and more active subs that were otherwise actively moderated. The activity that made them so obvious in the tiny subs was almost invisible in a post with hundreds of comments.
Reporting them rarely ever resulted in any kind of removal. The smaller subs aren’t actively moderated. The admins don’t (or didn’t) really ever respond to direct reports. I would sometimes comment on my observations in hopes that it would persuade less savvy folks from falling for it. Sometimes, though, I’d end up with dozens of down votes for doing that (again, very odd thing to happen in a small and inactive sub).
At one point I got “noticed” and I was invited to a private sub run by users who report and track that specific kind of spam. Also very eye opening to see how pervasive it was.
Reporting them rarely ever resulted in any kind of removal.
Oh it results in removal alright. It results in the removal of my legitimate account from the site due to “report abuse” because I reported those obvious bot farms incessantly.
Reddit admins implicitly encourage this sort of bot spam because any kind of Reddit activity shows active users, which means more displayed ads, which means money for Reddit. They do not give one flying fuck about actually reducing spam.
It’s like subreddit simulator but with chat gpt
The “sure,” at the beginning lmao
Haha I know that made me chuckle too
This is bad but the Fediverse is going to be just as, or even more, vulnerable to this kind of thing.
Will it? At least instances can defederate, although as we’re seeing, unless instances are very small, admins are proving reluctant to use the nuclear option.
I have hope that as Lemmy matures, admin tools will get better and more granular - like options to defederate communities and not whole instances.
Reddit has no motivation to improve in this area, and they won’t, until it’s too late.
Fediverse is mostly open source. So anyone can implement anti-spam mechanism to their instance. Although it is currently open to spam, I think it will be much more spam-proof if it becomes mainstream.
I think that sub was around before the protests. I remember stumbling across it a while ago and feeling strange. Like reading a journal written by someone who doesn’t exist.
Interesting reddit suspended these accounts, but never removed the ad spam. The bots literally won while being caught.
Jesus fucking Christ the (lack of) humanity
I refuse to go back to Reddit to even look but this is my fear for a long time now. Loosing trust to any conversation in the internet.
Sure here’s a list of reasons why you can trust me:
- I am human.
- I am not a robot.
- I can provide different kinds of lists if you need them.
- I can sound smart.
- … I can also run out of things to say.
Overall it is good to remember those who can provide you with quality in your life.
Is that the same kind of quality you get in a signature McDonald’s Quarter Pounder? With their locally-sourced beef patties and freshly picked potatoes fried that very same day! Why not wash it down with a tasty Coca-Cola? All of this at an unbeatably low price and served with a smile!
Rainy day? Stuck indoors? For a limited time only, delivery via Uber Eats is completely free, so you can get that iconic taste delivered directly to your door!
You can trust me bro
I think many people will migrate off Reddit as the discussions become increasingly synthetic. I’m sure plenty will stay but I hope enough leave so alternatives can improve.
