Honestly I'm not sure where best to discuss this but I've been seeing a crazy rise in astroturfing lately.
A couple examples I've found that are boggling my mind:
Antivirus
https://old.reddit.com/r/GettingOverItGame/comments/165kgw7/best_antivirus_reddit_recommends_in_2023_for/
Here is a niche gaming subreddit crosspost of a post on a user whose posts are kinda... sus? They all seem like shit copy written by AI.
I mean who says
Reddit, with its vast user-driven content and unfiltered opinions, is a goldmine for genuine reviews. If you're searching for the best antivirus Reddit users vouch for in 2023, you're in the right place.
Hella questionable.
And the links? 1: removed post.
2: Links thru some redirecter that are all to the two VPNs being advertised by the post.
I mean it's obviously an advertisement just from the fact that only the two shilled services are linked to.
Another example:
https://old.reddit.com/r/Spyware/comments/159e2te/what_is_the_best_antivirus_of_2023/
Same products. Same links to only the shilled products.
There's also links to trustpilot but I did a bit of digging and it seems that they're like yelp in that you can get reviews removed? sigh.
What I find interesting here is the fact that this spyware subreddit is new and tiny, and one of the moderators made this veryyyyy similar AI post.
I mean it even has almost the exact same "Other Subreddits to _____ Antivirus Software" section.
Frankly I'm wondering if I should break the links just so they don't get extra weight on search engines.
I've also seen tons of sock puppet accounts for crappy dating apps, but honestly I'm more of a lurker and I've ran out of energy to write anything else here 😌
I honestly can't blame the mods after all the API bullshit. I can't imagine moderating was particularly enjoyable beforehand, and without the tools to make things more convenient I'd definitely give up.