I think it’s been this way for a while, maybe 8 years. I also think there are certain companies that pay reddit for this kind of engagement. It’s a completely unfounded conspiracy theory of mine own, but I think Disney and Marvel fandoms have been synthetically built up using this kind of astroturfed engagement. By using my bots to build a strong baseline, you create the sense that there is far more involvement than there actually is. Because these bots are owned by reddit, they can steer the engagement. It’s not a guarantee, but it’s a part of an overall strategy.
Of course the marketing dept of large companies and sports leagues work directly with reddit. They also have the ability to sponsor and boost organic posts, place top comments etc…
I always thought it was so stupid when people complained about “karma farming bots” when it was obviously synthetic content that primarily benefitted Reddit themselves.
Synthetic engagement.
I think it’s been this way for a while, maybe 8 years. I also think there are certain companies that pay reddit for this kind of engagement. It’s a completely unfounded conspiracy theory of mine own, but I think Disney and Marvel fandoms have been synthetically built up using this kind of astroturfed engagement. By using my bots to build a strong baseline, you create the sense that there is far more involvement than there actually is. Because these bots are owned by reddit, they can steer the engagement. It’s not a guarantee, but it’s a part of an overall strategy.
Of course the marketing dept of large companies and sports leagues work directly with reddit. They also have the ability to sponsor and boost organic posts, place top comments etc…
I believe it but I’d like to have direct evidence for it.
Here is an old link about sponsored posts https://www.marketingdive.com/news/reddits-new-ad-program-will-let-brands-sponsor-organic-posts/423434/
And directly from the source https://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/4upf11/new_ad_type_promoted_user_posts/?rdt=45084
The program has certainly changed since then though
I always thought it was so stupid when people complained about “karma farming bots” when it was obviously synthetic content that primarily benefitted Reddit themselves.