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Does Reddit have an astroturfing problem? What the data suggests

312 points · 408 comments · p-s-v

  1. asksomeoneelse · · focus · HN ↗
    Niche topics like linux feel somewhat safe from bots. But the last time I checked the more popular subs.. yikes..

    When I see 2-weeks old account "Incendiary-Leg-8592" responding to a post by another weeks old user "Pivotal-Kitchen-0498", I have a hard time believing they are humans behind them.

    1. delecti · · focus · HN ↗
      Do you use the "old" reddit view? Reddit introduced display names separate from account usernames, but old reddit doesn't show them. The user that shows up as Incendiary-Leg-8592 on old Reddit might have simply accepted reddit's suggestion when they created their account, and appear to everyone else (whatever the old/new reddit breakdown is) as something less spammy looking.

      Assuming you do indeed still use "old" reddit, the next time you see such a comment, open their account page in a private window (or any browser that isn't logged in). They might look different to themselves and most others.

      1. numpad0 · · focus · HN ↗
        old reddit is only accessible by blocking access to www. Account pages are also dynamically hidden and it can be difficult to do that.
        1. delecti · · focus · HN ↗
          Old reddit is a checkbox on your account preferences page.

          And on new reddit you can see user names and display names even when accounts have their post/comment history hidden.

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