Are there bots that automatically downvote anything posted to reddit that contain certain key words like "GMO"?
49 2014-04-23 by axolotl_peyotl
I did an experiment today in a small sub I made with only about 100 subscribers.
I submitted three posts, all from the same blog. Two had the word "GMO" in the title and one didn't.
Both of the GMO submissions each got 3 downvotes in a few minutes.
The third for hours had zero downvotes.
Where did the initial downvotes come from? It happened quickly. Why was the third post that didn't mention GMOs not downvoted in the same amount of time?
I couldn't care less about votes or GMO-loving bots, I just thought it was interesting.
27 comments
7 Scuderia 2014-04-23
Weird, but with a sample size of three it's way to hard to make any sort of conclusion.
If you want to me a bit more rigorous in seeing if this is a bot that is automatically down voting your post based off of the term "GMO" you should make three types of post.
Ones that are Anti-GMO
Ones that are Pro-GMO.
Ones that are Neutral, but contained "GMO" in the title.
Make a post of each type a type an hour or so apart, and alternate the order each day. Do this for like a weak or two. With your results run a simple P-test and see if you find a noticeable effect.
While this won't actually prove a bot is down voting you based of the term "GMO" it would be still be a very interesting experiment.
Also probably should use selfpost, cause if there is a bot it might be looking based of what site is being linked, and not just the title.
3 Soul_Shot 2014-04-23
The end result:
6 peterxgriffin 2014-04-23
Why wouldnt you care about bots censoring topics? And if its true, i wouldnt be surprised. There are already filters in place in /r/politics /r/worldnews and /r/technology that remove or hide threads with keywords
7 axolotl_peyotl 2014-04-23
I usually try not to be the pessimist, especially when it comes to hating on reddit, but as of late I too am starting to give up hope.
I think this problem is site-wide.
2 sunshine-x 2014-04-23
Writing a bot that downvotes posts or comments real-time would be trivial. If someone hasn't written one if be shocked.
2 NameTaken410 2014-04-23
There is that user history bot the works in almost real time...
2 sunshine-x 2014-04-23
yup. simple to do, and surely someone is automating things to push their agenda.
4 Flytape 2014-04-23
Make a new test.
Make a brand new public subreddit that doesn't have any subscribers from an account that doesn't have conspiratard stalkers.
Your main account most likely has conspiratard stalkers who down vote everything.
Then make some posts from an alt account that doesn't have stalkers and you'll discover that you have conspiratard barnacles that follow around your conspiracy account.
2 BipolarsExperiment 2014-04-23
I posted about this months ago and noticed the same thing. I made a few threads with titles like "Gee eM Oh" and they didn't get immediate downvotes.
i noticed the same thing in posts with israel in the title too
2 fiendzone 2014-04-23
You get a Bellwether award for lurking in the New queue and flagging, that may be the source.
Note that one also can get a White Hat for probing Reddit code responsibly, so if you think that Reddit has been hacked you should go for it.
2 Mrg13 2014-04-23
Feel free to experiment away in /r/ConspiracyNoRules we have about 200 subscribes now.
3 IntellisaurDinoAlien 2014-04-23
You just got another too.
1 Mrg13 2014-04-23
Hooray!
It's still a small sub. Only a few dedicated posters but who knows what the future holds.
2 IntellisaurDinoAlien 2014-04-23
Probably censorship and trolls eventually, but don't stop on their account!
1 Mrg13 2014-04-23
I don't plan on it. I have no problem dealing with them
2 SaxonWitch 2014-04-23
I was amazed that when I was shadow-banned, someone still down-voted me to 0 on some specific comments. If I don't exist, who could be able and interested to down-vote me by 1???? It was for that reason I didn't notice I was shadow-banned in the first place because I thought if I get a down vote I must still be around, but I wasn't. I am back now obviously but I am really interested in the above.
2 aHead4anEye 2014-04-23
I too have thought this, and I think it has to do with Reddit's algorithm not allowing posts that recieve a downvote first from reaching the front page.
2 lucycohen 2014-04-23
Yes, loads of bots doing this, anyone here who says there isn't is a shill
1 zaikanekochan 2014-04-23
I just posted in a sub with only 1 subscriber (me), and received 0 downvotes. It was the same article you posted.
3 axolotl_peyotl 2014-04-23
Cool thanks. Did you just create the sub now?
2 zaikanekochan 2014-04-23
No, I've had it for a while. It is barren, but I use it mess around with CSS and the like. I have two subs, /r/AbeLincoln (which is empty) and /r/TipsForIdiots , which hosts terrible tips that Reddit gives.
2 thc1967 2014-04-23
I am going to waste way too much time there.
2 chocoladna 2014-04-23
I like your sub, funny. Subscribed!
2 zaikanekochan 2014-04-23
Sweet, thanks! You are now #32. Other noteable 32's: OJ Simpson, Dr. J, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Jim Brown, and Sandy Koufax.
1 BAckwaterRifle 2014-04-23
You might have some stalkers.
5 axolotl_peyotl 2014-04-23
Well I know that already. I've had folks admit that they regularly go through and downvote all of my recent submissions, it's flattering really...
1 star_particles 2014-04-23
I love your posts and your sub by the way. Keep it up.
3 IntellisaurDinoAlien 2014-04-23
You just got another too.
5 axolotl_peyotl 2014-04-23
Well I know that already. I've had folks admit that they regularly go through and downvote all of my recent submissions, it's flattering really...