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 ๐
I think I found the cause of the issue.
You are still visiting reddit.com
Stop that and this will all be sorted.
Pretty much the only reason I still visit reddit is because there was in the past been such a wealth of genuine discussion. Like if I wanted to get the inside facts of "what's the best mayonaise" I could find it on r/mayo posted 4 years ago.
Lemmy is still a bit lacking in that regard, though I'm sure it will come soon enough.
I think I found the cause of the issue.
You are confusing the present with the past.
That link is from 8 days ago... (Seriously, who has given a shit about AV in the last decade?)
Personally, reddit has been a shithole of disinformation since the run up to the 2016 US election.
I gave up on the place then, except for very specific small subs.
You're not wrong, but the habit still persists a bit :(
Just have to accept that the thing I loved no longer exists.
Well, the people who made it lovable are partly here, you can recreate that place here. Take up a community that you enjoyed on reddit and learn to mod. I modded subreddits for over a year. Let me know if you need help. :) we need more people to take up responsibility imo.