Reddit in bed with Big Brother?

28  2017-09-26 by Cat_with_Sunglasses

I am new to reddit, but not new to forums in general. Most forums throughout my time on the web have felt genuine. Even if someone is trolling or has no idea what they are talking about, it feels genuine. Not here there is something weird going on in Reddit... it feels artificial. Like only a small percentage is genuine.

An unauthentic peoples' forum. Not to say everyone is disingenuous. Not at all but it has a very feaux free speech feel to it. Sort of like our current state of affairs in the world.

Is there a theme that everyone acknowledges that I have not found yet?

Is there a written or unwritten law of the way people and ideas are to be discussed here?

Help me. I feel like giving up on (redd)it not from lack of interest but from the discouragement of feeling like there are nefarious actors in a way I perceive as threatening.

Thoughts? Insights? Rumors? Do tell

26 comments

1  justaponyfan 2017-09-26

I think it's because users are so desperate to accumulate karma (internet points), they pretend to be whatever the consensus is to not get downvoted.

1  Putin_loves_cats 2017-09-26

Yup, the karmic hive mind. They also cower to the SJW/PC culture, as well.

1  RubJellyOnUs 2017-09-26

i enjoy the downvotes sheep give me

1  Putin_loves_cats 2017-09-26

I don't personally give a fuck, myself...

1  RubJellyOnUs 2017-09-26

but you do, which is why you replied and tried to convince me, well yourself, that you dont care

1  Putin_loves_cats 2017-09-26

Nah, I post my thoughts. Take them or leave them, tis' on you.

1  RubJellyOnUs 2017-09-26

ill post my thought kill yourself for lying to yourself

1  Putin_loves_cats 2017-09-26

Why do you want me to kill myself?

1  RubJellyOnUs 2017-09-26

i just told you why. god you are a bot im betting.

1  Putin_loves_cats 2017-09-26

i just told you why

No you didn't?

god you are a bot im betting.

I just cant... You're... You're a... Bot!!! Go cry in your safe space, snowflake. Holy fuck, are people in this country really this fuckin' dumb..? Don't answer that.. please...

1  RubJellyOnUs 2017-09-26

but you just reiterated bot phrases. fuck off bot.

1  Putin_loves_cats 2017-09-26

Prove I'm a bot, because now, you are just looking retarded because you have no argument...

1  RubJellyOnUs 2017-09-26

bye bot, you arent advanced enough for self awareness yet

1  Putin_loves_cats 2017-09-26

Okie dokie.

1  digdog303 2017-09-26

I'm not the best person to give you the unabridged history, but reddit is definitely compromised. Supermod accounts, past ownership changes of reddit, upvotes and accounts for sale are things worth looking into. There have been some excellent posts about it in this sub. Pretty much around the time aaron swartz died is when they started dismantling reddit.

There is definitely a hivemind at work, along with brigading and good fucking luck if one of your niche subs has a post that hits /all. It's up to you to decide if the cesspit of the comments sections in various subs is worth it for you.

1  SkeefLeaf 2017-09-26

Spot on.

1  Madrenoche 2017-09-26

Reddit is no different than Google. All the same bullshit while claiming free speech. The mods are all corporate shills pushing an agenda. Look no further than r/politics and the plethora of other sites compromised.

I don't know where to find it but a dude paid like $20 to get on the front page of r/videos with his dog talking about how easy it was to get there with very little money ....

That sealed it for me.

1  maybebaked 2017-09-26

No online forum is safe from government puppets. There are also a lot of karmawhores that say fake bullshit that people want to hear to get upvotes.

1  Putin_loves_cats 2017-09-26

Reddit is different because it was quite literally built off of bots. No doubt in my mind there are many, many AI bots on reddit. Shit is kind of freaky when you think about it.

1  trjb 2017-09-26

It's been confirmed by reddit themselves they've worked with/work for the government.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyber-reddit/reddit-deletes-surveillance-warrant-canary-in-transparency-report-idUSKCN0WX2YF

1  NutritionResearch 2017-09-26

All social media is eventually compromised when it reaches a certain level of popularity. Governments and corporations will go where the traffic is and where it is easiest to spread propaganda and advertising.

That isn't to say that the admins have to be in on it. Even if they weren't, there still isn't much they can do to prevent clever people from creating and using seemingly legitimate accounts.

This is also not even a conspiracy theory. It's factual and admitted to in the mainstream media. See here: https://np.reddit.com/r/shills/comments/4kdq7n/astroturfing_information_megathread_revision_8/?utm_content=comments&utm_medium=hot&utm_source=reddit&utm_name=shills

1  socontroversial 2017-09-26

Conspiracy theories by definition don't mean something incorrect.

1  How1ntriguing 2017-09-26

Of course

1  BerniesSublime 2017-09-26

Wikileaks GI files reveal Reddit Cofounder Alexis Ohanian consulted with Stratfor, the Intelligence firm.

http://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/1l444l/wikileaks_gi_files_reveal_reddit_cofounder_alexis/

Reddit co-founder sought work with shadowy intelligence firm, WikiLeaks reveals

http://rt.com/usa/stratfor-reddit-ohanian-intelligence-work-029/

https://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?q=antique+jetpack&mfrom=&mto=&title=&notitle=&date=&nofrom=&noto=&count=50&sort=0&file=&docid=&relid=0#searchresult

Reddit is censoring the recent wikileaks leak about Alexis Ohanian consulting with stratfor Intelligence Firm.

http://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/1l4aiq/reddit_is_censoring_the_recent_wikileaks_leak/

How Is It That A Random Comment On Reddit Leads To Your Friend Getting Tracked By The FBI? | Techdirt

http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/drgp9/how_is_it_that_a_random_comment_on_reddit_leads/

Feds Demand Reddit Identify Users of a Dark-Web Drug Forum

http://www.wired.com/2015/03/dhs-reddit-dark-web-drug-forum/

Terrorists using eBay and Reddit to send coded messages: Mossad

http://nypost.com/2015/03/01/terrorists-using-ebay-and-reddit-to-send-coded-messages-mossad/

Police to Infiltrate College Students via Reddit, OP accidentally relies to self

http://www.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/2ezkmp/police_to_infiltrate_college_students_via_reddit/

Confirmed: Laurelai is an FBI informant

http://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/qu0mp/confirmed_laurelai_is_an_fbi_informant/

Laurelai gets caught abusing her mod powers in another subreddit.

http://www.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/qnc24/laurelai_gets_caught_abusing_her_mod_powers_in/

/u/Laurelai forgets to switch accounts and reveals that they are still a mod of /r/OccupyWallStreet using the sockpuppet /u/OccupyWallStreet

http://www.reddit.com/r/NolibsWatch/comments/v74sk/ulaurelai_forgets_to_switch_accounts_and_reveals/

[blog.reddit.com - 08 May 2013] Reddit admins post traffic information. 'Eglin Air Force Base, FL' is listed as "Most addicted city (over 100k visits total)"

http://www.reddit.com/r/MilitaryConspiracy/comments/1fcr86/blogredditcom_08_may_2013_reddit_admins_post/

US military studied how to influence Twitter users in Darpa-funded research

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/08/darpa-social-networks-research-twitter-influence-studies

Reddit, Imgur and Twitch team up as 'Derp' for social data research

The alliance will offer data to universities, offering academics access to information to promote cross-platform study

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/aug/18/reddit-imgur-twitch-derp-social-data

Reddit Users Are Like Sheep

A new study shows that users on social news sites view a comment differently based on the judgement of users before them

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/science-shows-how-reddit-users-are-like-sheep-26361635/?no-ist

1  murphy212 2017-09-26

Great work putting all these links together, thanks.

(- OP that's how a non-shill comments on reddit, pretty soon you'll tell the difference easily)

1  Space__Stuff 2017-09-26

Absafuckinglutely. It sucks.

1  spiracycon 2017-09-26

Reddit is compromised, but so are most sites these days. Keep reading, keep researching, keep communicating, keep fighting.