Thread

No Easy Fix for Bogus Respondents in Online Opt-In Polls

61 points · 37 comments · luu

0points · 1790143539 · focus · HN ↗
And here I was thinking this was proved beyond any reasonable doubt when 4chan users spoofed the Time Magazine person of the year poll of 2009 to spell out "MARBLECAKE, ALSO THE GAME" by the initials of the top winners:
<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2009/04/27/time-magazine-throws-up-its-hands-as-it-gets-pwned-by-4chan/" rel="nofollow">https://techcrunch.com/2009/04/27/time-magazine-throws-up-it...
Or when Kim Jong Un won in 2012, spelling out "KJUGASCHAMBER":
<a href="https://observer.com/2012/12/4chan-successfully-votes-kim-jong-un-to-top-of-times-person-of-the-year-list/" rel="nofollow">https://observer.com/2012/12/4chan-successfully-votes-kim-jo...
1. hyperpape · 1790160106 · focus · HN ↗
  You're half right, half not.
  This is evidence, but it would be a mistake to think that high profile online contests would have the same dynamics as low profile online polling. 4chan is characterized by an insane level of effort on the specific jokes that they care about. But they don't care about a random poll nearly as much as they care about big stunts like this.
  1. nemomarx · 1790161867 · focus · HN ↗
    Of course, but a low profile poll also needs less effort to manipulate, so it scales down for both ends.

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