• Discoslugs@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Are any of these accounts bots?

    Or maybe how many of these accounts are bots?

    Are they all bots?

    • Martineski@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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      1 year ago

      Around 95% accounts are bots. Around 90% if we are positive and assume that a lot of redditors joined since the bot farming started.

      • ramblechat@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        So what are the Bots doing? Who created them and why? I don’t understand the purpose of bots.

        • Martineski@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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          1 year ago

          Currently nothing but once activated they may start spamming stuff everywhere. Owners can decide what gets upvotes and what gets downvotes which gives you a lot of power on a platform where downvotes/upvotes mean everything.

          • ramblechat@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Still don’t get it - someone makes a comment, bots upvote it so it gets seen by more people. Not really going to change the world.

            • Dr Cog@lemmy.ml
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              1 year ago

              Sure, but do you like ads that masquerade as posts? Because if you do then you’ll love the delicious taste of Diet Coke, grab one today! (16900 upvotes)

              • Margot Robbie@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                Oh boy, I, for one, love the taste of Diet Coke, the perfect refreshing drink when you and your family watch my new movie, “Barbie”, only in theaters July 21st.

                • x4740N@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  Companies advertising on here through AMA’s should also be prevented because it’s just advertising

            • gun@lemmy.ml
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              1 year ago

              They don’t want to change the world. They want to let you know about hot singles in your area

            • Martineski@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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              1 year ago

              Yeah, but this can give you popularity and attention that people crave and it will be pretty damn useful in scamming others too.

        • Zamboniman@lemmy.ca
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          1 year ago

          So what are the Bots doing?

          Many of them are doing nothing so far.

          No doubt they are available for sale to some company or individual that wants to buy them wholesale and start spamming or astroturfing.

          Who created them and why?

          People wanting to sell them for $$ mostly. In some cases, people biding their time to use them for mass spam, social misdirection, opinion forming, etc.

          I don’t understand the purpose of bots.

          In social media, a common and concerning use of them is to use them wholesale (comments, posts, and votes) to try and sway mass opinion on some issue to something the person responsible for the bots wants.

      • Discoslugs@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Thats seems bad. I know some bots are hepful. But 1 million bots seems like they for something nefariously.