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. rhdunn · 1790153570 · focus · HN ↗
  Or Boaty McBoatface winning the name of a research ship (given to a submarine on the ship).
  1. dcminter · 1790160216 · focus · HN ↗
    In fairness I think a lot of people (me included) genuinely thought that would be an entertaining name for the ship, so the polling result wasn't necessarily wrong per se.
    rhdunn · 1790161417 · focus · HN ↗
    Fair, though it does show how things like that can skew polling results.
    mitxela · 1790163319 · focus · HN ↗
    i.e. engagement bait

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