[BitwiseFool]

We know some power-users are paid to promote things by advertising agencies and other special interest groups. We know some PACs are active in trying to shape public opinion on Reddit. I wouldn't be surprised at all if some of the moderators, especially the "powermods", are earning a living based on payments by some of these groups.

[slfnflctd]

That is a popular opinion amongst redditors, and I find it a bit conspiracy-theory-ish. Shills doing anything potentially impactful are often easy to spot and tend to be called out on it or ignored. I expect there is some quid pro quo going on, but "earning a living" seems like a stretch (with maybe some very rare temporary exceptions in burgeoning frontiers).

More plausible is that there are lobbyists or employees of think tanks who use reddit as one small part of their overall efforts. There are likely a ton of failed attempts to make something go viral, with the occasional lucky success. I can't see the time investment usually being worth it for anyone actually looking at results.

Of course, for those with money to burn who are too lazy for followup, someone they employ could be making money as a 'reddit influencer', but I just don't see them accomplishing much. Throughout the history of post-agricultural civilization, there have been dead weight positions eagerly filled by those more interested in easy money than taking pride in their work. It's like a lottery for the ethically challenged, and what they do is ultimately of very little importance to the rest of us.

[pessimizer]

> Shills doing anything potentially impactful are often easy to spot and tend to be called out on it or ignored.

Not a chance. The easily spotted are the least likely to be shills, or are very new to it. If you know that people have been paid to infiltrate actual physical groups for years, in the UK literally having children with members of those groups, I'm not sure why you think it would be so much harder for a pseudonym to fool reddit visitors.

I'm more curious whether they mostly use off the shelf tools, or mostly their own tools developed in-house. We need a new post-2016 Snowden-style leak.

[peyton]

The entire site was seeded by and built on fake accounts. An extreme amount of content is fake. There are people who control thousands of accounts.

[mannyv]

What’s hilarious is the idea that Reddit users are worth influencing in any way shape or form. But I suppose once you roll up the niches you end up with a big number.

[johnnyanmac]

In a medium where clicks and views (no matter the quality of those views) results in money down the line, it doesn't really matter. Ads want eyeballs and reddit has a lot of eyeballs to be pitched with.