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Does Reddit have an astroturfing problem? What the data suggests

312 points · 408 comments · p-s-v

  1. nomel · · focus · HN ↗
    > Thin accounts: few comments, low scores, no real standing in the subreddit.

    > Young accounts, or accounts with histories that are hidden or wiped.

    Nope, this is no longer an indicator of a bot account. Many that I've looked into will have active posts to local town/region subreddits (often times multiple!) and different sports subreddits, sometimes getting unusually high amounts of karma in them (which suggests a network).

    Turing test is looong dead, so no reason to assume the small fractions of a cent to make comments, to get a reasonable history, isn't being taken advantage of.

    1. drop_star · · focus · HN ↗
      Ya this is me. I used to use the web version now im 'required' to have an account. I just create and delete accounts every couple weeks. I use the generic Word-Word-#### and keep my history private.
      1. irishcoffee · · focus · HN ↗
        Out of curiosity, why? The amount of times I’ve banged out a Reddit or hn response and deleted it is almost uncountable. Why do you bother replying to Reddit comments?
        1. _g0xr · · focus · HN ↗
          Deleting a comment doesn't delete it from reddit's backend, only from public view, so reddit still retains and can track and sell your data. Making multiple accounts (assuming one also takes other steps like using a VPN and clearing cookies and local storage) would make it harder for reddit to connect all your comments and build a profile on you.
          1. someonebaggy · · focus · HN ↗
            That's why people were using extensions to edit their comments to random words instead. Apparently Reddit had no way to un-edit a comment. It's probably been fixed by now though.
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