[piker]

Sure. If you turn on "show dead" you will see half a dozen green-named (i.e., recently established) accounts that are obviously "agents". They're clogging up the pipe with noise. We as a collective are well-positioned to fight back and help protect the commons from the monster we have created.

[rob]

It's even worse. They're not limited to new accounts. I've seen a lot of bots now from accounts that are literally years old but with zero activity that suddenly start posting a lot of comments within a span of 24 to 48 hours. I have some examples of them if you search my recent comments.

[MicKillah]

Welp, I just might get flagged by your method then. I lurk extensively on this site. I haven’t figured out how to “fit in”.

[thethirdone]

You would not. You don't normally post lots of comments. The occasional return after a long period of inactivity is not in itself suspicious.

[AstroBen]

I've seen this too. What's confusing is they don't seem to be accomplishing anything? They're not pushing products

What's the point? To prime the account for later?

[thomasingalls]

"can the bot army push average opinion x% in this innocuous topic?" it could very easily be a/b testing a propaganda system.

[WolfeReader]

I am simultaneously grateful that you told us about this, and also kind of wish I didn't know. There's so much.

[louiereederson]

Wow thank you, I didn't know about this feature