Reddit astroturfing problem questioned
The gist
A data analysis of 51,129 knife-subreddit comments found one brand got 31% of its buying-thread mentions from 5% of accounts.
The study can show recommendations are concentrated but not why, leaving paid astroturfing unproven.
How it unfolded
- 2022Mike Riggs wrote up 'the Reddit hack' in Reason, after Dmitri Brereton's essay on Google search made the same point.
- September 2026A REDCmts price list showed one comment at $9.99, ten at $89.99, and one hundred at $699.99.
- Sep 28, 2026A Hacker News post titled 'Does Reddit have an astroturfing problem? What the data suggests' was submitted by p-s-v, with 12 points and 3 comments.