bot casually stealing comments

I live in a "first past the post" country that forces a two-party system and penalizes voting your conscience unless it aligns with one of those parties. While there may be flaws in Ranked Choice Voting that could emerge in fringe cases, it is so obviously superior to our current system that it is hard for me to worry too much about the nuance of how it might not be 100% perfect 100% of the time. Any (democratic) system is better than what we have now.

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I live in a "first past the post" country that forces a two-party system and penalizes voting your conscience unless it aligns with one of those parties. While there may be flaws in Ranked Choice Voting that could emerge in fringe cases, it is so obviously superior to our current system that it is hard for me to worry too much about the nuance of how it might not be 100% perfect 100% of the time. Any (democratic) system is better than what we have now.

43
- I̴͖̿ ̴̉͜l̵̫̆i̵̠̊v̵̫͠ē̷̱ ̷̛̥î̸̢n̸͓͐ ̴̻̔a̷͗ͅ ̸͕͌"̵̝͐f̵̤̀i̸̢͐r̶̮̄ś̴͙t̶̫̚ ̸̠̉p̸̰͗a̷̙͒š̶͚t̷̪́ ̸̧̚t̶̳̕h̸̤̋ẽ̸͓ ̸̨̅p̶̣͠ō̵͖s̵̖̀t̵̬͠"̵̮̆ ̸̟͂c̶͉̒o̷̧̽u̷̙̓n̸̮̈t̶̫͝ṙ̶̬ý̸͙ ̵̯́ť̵̨h̸̻͊a̸̙̾ț̵̀ ̴̬̈́f̴̲̉ò̶̩r̷̯̕č̵̲e̷̩͐s̵̥̽ ̷͖̾à̵͍ ̵͂͜t̷̫͛w̵̮͑o̵̢̍-̶̦̓p̵̬̈ä̸̳r̶̼͝t̴̺̄ý̴̡ ̶̧̒ŝ̶̲y̴̪͆s̷͎͝ẗ̶̤ḙ̶̎m̴̯̂ ̶̠̌a̶͇̋ṅ̵̡d̸̦́ ̷͈͘p̴̺͝ȅ̶̟n̸̙̓ä̵͚́l̷͙̚i̵͈̓z̶̩̅é̷̖s̴͎̉ ̷̧͘v̶̪͛õ̵ͅṭ̵͗i̷͙̾n̴̼̔g̶̛̟ ̵̥̕ỷ̷̡ò̷̹u̵̬̚r̸͓̓ ̶̼̓c̸̩͑ȍ̷̲n̴̞͆s̷̰͗c̵̖̏i̶̥͊e̸̝͆n̴͉͋c̸̜̅ẹ̷́ ̴̝̍ṵ̶̋ṇ̷͝l̸̯̉è̴̙š̸̖s̴͎͐ ̴̲̐ị̴́t̸̹͐ ̵̬̀a̵̮̓l̸̺̈́i̵̬̒ģ̸̚n̶̻͂s̴̠͂ ̷͖̚w̷͙̆ì̷̺t̴̳̔ḧ̴͕́ ̴̣͂ő̷̡n̸̫͠e̷̥̿ ̸̧̒o̴̞̕ḟ̵͖ ̶͖͝t̸̖̃h̷̕͜ǫ̵̎s̶͉͆ẻ̵̙ ̷̨̓p̸͎̏á̷̭r̸̹͊t̸̻͗i̵̫̓ȩ̶̀s̶̹͝.̶͔̄ ̷͙̉Ẅ̷̘́h̷̤̽i̸͙̊ḽ̸̔ē̸̡ ̸̟̈́t̷͐ͅh̵̜̑e̵̗͊r̷̲͋ĕ̶̝ ̵͕̏m̵̬̑a̷̯̽y̴̡̔ ̶̹͂b̴̨̕e̴̺̚ ̴̖͠f̷̯͒l̸͚͒a̵̤̽ẃ̸̺s̵̲͠ ̶̮̏i̸͎̓n̴̘͊ ̸͓̄Ṙ̶͍a̴̘͆ṅ̷͔k̸͕̕e̶̟̅d̶̦̐ ̵̩̓C̵̛͎h̴̯̅ò̶̪i̴͇͑c̵̯͐e̷̡̎ ̶͚͗V̴̺̈o̸̩͒t̸̘̉ĩ̸͚n̴͓͋g̴̙͐ ̵̹̑t̷̪̏h̴͍̀ȁ̶͉t̸̟̒ ̸͎̌c̵͙̓o̷͎̎ú̷͇l̷̝͗d̶̹̃ ̸̛̪e̶͍̊m̷͚̌ë̵͔́ṟ̵͝ġ̸͉e̷̱͊ ̴̱͝į̵̋n̷̳̊ ̵̐͜f̴̠́r̵͔̊ȉ̶̻ń̸͔g̵͈̎e̵͔̓ ̵̻͝c̶̈́͜à̸̧s̴̘̅e̵̦̊s̴̩̉,̵̛̬ ̷̻͊í̴̡t̷͇̽ ̷̨͋ỉ̷̝s̷͙̅ ̵̖̍s̶̨͗o̸̗͌ ̵̧̐ỏ̸̟b̸͕̕v̴̻̓i̷̳̋ö̸͇́u̴̬͗s̵͙͑l̶̛͕ỵ̸͒ ̵͚͠ś̸̤ů̵̱p̸͈̊e̶͓̍r̴̗͛ỉ̶̦o̶͓͂r̷̡͝ ̸̩̏t̴̜͗ō̵̲ ̸̹̓o̸̞͂ù̸̜ȓ̵̺ ̸̱̀c̵̗̿ū̸̢r̶͓̾r̷̢̔e̸͇͠n̷͚̐ṱ̸̾ ̵͎̈s̷̋͜ẙ̶͙ș̴̑ṱ̶̓ē̶͉m̴̪̒ ̵͇̅ẗ̷́ͅh̸͉̄a̶͔̅t̵̘͆ ̶̪̿ǐ̵̬t̶̻̆ ̵̥̈ī̶̪s̴̚ͅ ̴̻̕ḥ̵͆a̸̔͜r̵̭͠d̸̲͝ ̸̨͌f̶͉͛o̴̹̊r̶̙̚ ̷͙͐m̷̪̋e̸͓͝ ̶̮͌t̷̺͊o̸͙̊ ̶̡̚w̵͍̅o̷̥͌r̷̠͆r̷͈͌ý̵̦ ̴͙̄t̸̝͂ỏ̴̥ŏ̷̲ ̷͔̈m̷̡̏ű̶̘c̶͎͐h̷̻́ ̴͕̈́ǎ̸̹b̶̡̃ọ̷͒ủ̸̟ẗ̸́͜ ̴̖̒t̶͖͛h̴͈͛e̶̫̅ ̶͎͝n̸̥̎u̶̹̎a̸͔͐n̴͓̎c̵̻̔e̸̹̐ ̶͇̐o̴̝͌f̶̖̚ ̴̙̓ḣ̶̹o̶͍̚w̵̻̚ ̵͓̂í̵̻ť̵̡ ̶̧̈́m̴̥̓i̴͉̅g̵͎͂ḧ̸͓́t̸̠̃ ̵̻̂ṋ̶͑ő̶̗t̷̥͂ ̴͉͊b̷̦̊e̴͇͐ ̷̾ͅ1̵̝̀0̸͇̈́0̷̳͑%̶̠̀ ̶̖̎p̷̙͠e̷̗͒r̷̪̀f̸̭̏é̷͜c̴͎̓t̸̛̖ ̴̯̄1̵̡͑0̴̻͠0̶̬͑%̷͍̐ ̸̢̛o̵̤̽f̷̞̒ ̷̲͋t̸̨̒h̵̠̀e̷̦͝ ̴̢́ṫ̵̟i̸͎̇ṃ̴͌è̵͚.̸̫͐ ̶͘͜Ą̸̈n̷̜͋y̷̜͒ ̸̱̈́(̶̣͆d̷̪͆e̸̖̕m̸͈͠o̴̬̿c̶̹̆r̵̩̈́á̸̜ẗ̴̗i̷̯̔c̷͛͜)̵͈̌ ̸͎͑ṣ̸̚y̵̢͠s̸̞̀t̵͖͊e̸̛̲m̵̼͘ ̴̤͠i̷̗͘s̴̟̄ ̴͖̈́b̸̧̒ë̶̹́t̶̤̑t̶͔̉ë̷̪́ȑ̶̲ ̸̩͒t̴̼̀h̶̲̉a̴̒͜n̴̖͂ ̸̙̃w̴͚̒h̴̳̒a̷̫̔t̷̲͝ ̷̘̈́w̵̨͗ē̵̝ ̵̻̏h̸̯͒a̷̡̓v̴̧̎e̶͛͜ ̵̺̕ņ̵̔o̷̧̐w̷̰̚.̶̡̾
  
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upvoted without realizing the joke, man i would not survive in the wild

0

These are probably comments on this Veritasium video which actually pretty informative.

That being said, I also live in a "first past the post" country that forces a two-party system and penalizes voting your conscience unless it aligns with one of those parties. While there may be flaws in Ranked Choice Voting that could emerge in fringe cases, it is so obviously superior to our current system that it is hard for me to worry too much about the nuance of how it might not be 100% perfect 100% of the time. Any (democratic) system is better than what we have now.

64

Yeah solid video watched it the other day.

Thankfully I also live in a "first past the post" country that forces a two-party system and penalizes voting your conscience unless it aligns with one of those parties. While there may be flaws in Ranked Choice Voting that could emerge in fringe cases, it is so obviously superior to our current system that it is hard for me to worry too much about the nuance of how it might not be 100% perfect 100% of the time. Any (democratic) system is better than what we have now.

17
This isn't the place to start a political discussion

-30
- I think you may have missed the joke lol
  
  8
- Your mom is the place to start a political discussion EYOOOO
  
  1

They're not just "casually" stealing comments. They steal a random comment from the video, then have a bunch of other bots give it a bunch of thumbs up so that it appears towards the top and accumulates more upvotes than most human comments make. 95% of the time it seems, the real comment has one or two upvotes and is buried so far you have to scroll multiple pages to reach it.

46

They likely downvote the original comments with their bots to bury it.

5
- I wouldn't be surprised, but I'm not convinced downvoting comments has any effect on YouTube.
  
  4
I've also seen a comment where other bots argued with themselves in the replies and ended up recommending a scam.

5
- That's usually about this Indian (or Pakistani?) guy I think about investments. I've even seen that one on Reddit.
  
  1
- I don't often invest in a 401k but when I do I use shady services recommended to me by bots.
  
  1
it also makes it a lot harder for skeptics taking a look at their account to reveal they're a bot. When every actual post is a clear copy and paste but the history is mixed with comments that seem legitimate it takes more digging that's just not worth doing

5
- The names and PFPs still give it away if you know about them.
  
  3

I suppose that taking a comment and adding breasts is a reasonably-straightforward, mechanical way to make it more appealing.

This does kind of suggest a potential endgame for what avatars wind up looking like.

45

I suppose that taking a comment and adding breasts is a reasonably-straightforward, mechanical way to make it more appealing.

This does kind of suggest a potential endgame for what avatars wind up looking like.

38
- I suppose that taking a comment and adding breasts is a reasonably-straightforward, mechanical way to make it more appealing.
  
  This does kind of suggest a potential endgame for what avatars wind up looking like.
  
  13
I live in a "first past the breast" country that forces a two-party system and penalizes voting your conscience unless it aligns with one of those breasts. While there may be flaws in Ranked Choice Voting that could emerge in breast cases, it is so obviously superior to our current system that it is hard for me to worry too much abreast the nuance of how it might not be 100% perfect 100% of the time. Any (breastocratic) system is better than what we have now.

4
I suppose that taking a comment and adding breasts is a reasonably-straightforward, mechanical way to make it more appealing.

( . )Y( . )

This does kind of suggest a potential endgame for what avatars wind up looking like.

3

that's YouTube right? They let these bots roam free and shadow ban half of my legit comments. The most infuriating is when the bot gets more likes than the original comment.

edit: I just read the comment and noticed this is probably about the new veritasium video.

30

........why are you commenting on YOUTUBE??? You can't even track how well your comments did, or what your highest rated comments are. Then half the people change their display names, and trying to follow the conversation just becomes a jumbled mess.

13
- Not to mention the comment section is often more toxic than the core of Chernobyl
  
  14
- i don't care about these things; most certainly not about display / user names
  
  6

Can someone explain to me the reason these bots exists? And why are they always so obvious, all of these bots pics has a girl in them and a very porno ad title kind of name? This bots picture was very mild (pretty normal even actually) compared to what I see in YouTubes comment section everyday.... They can be extremely pornographic.

Is this the new "Russian girl close to you" ad?

29

I'm guessing that once these bots have farmed enough karma, their owners will sell them to other people who will use them for advertising or propaganda.

13
If you click on the profile page there's usually some link in them. Unfortunately YT removed the ability to report spam comments recently. lol

Edit: That's for YT bots. I don't know what platform this is but I'd assume it is probably the same there.

12
- Unfortunately YT removed the ability to report spam comments recently. lol
  
  Surely this isn't true..? That would be so dumb.
  
  4
- So it is just an ad? And weirdly obvious about it?
  
  1
quantity over quality is a pretty effective scam technique, it's hard to get money from experienced technical users. So the initial hook is sometimes designed to intentionally be obvious to those users so they know to ignore it, so that the scammers don't waste their resources on the later stages of the scam

12
it doesn't matter to the bots author why you click it, just that someone does occasionally.

8
Step 1: Repeat popular comments for a few months to make the account look vaguely like a real person and thus more credible.
Step 2: Switch bot to spewing propaganda.

5
- But would that even work on YouTube? Maybe I have missed something, but can you really tell if an account is "popular" can you even check comment history? Wouldn't uploading other ppls videos and get subscribers work like you said? And why that name and picture?
  
  5

It doesn't surprise me. I live in a "first past the post" country that forces a two-party system and penalizes voting your conscience unless it aligns with one of those parties. While there may be flaws in Ranked Choice Voting that could emerge in fringe cases, it is so obviously superior to our current system that it is hard for me to worry about the nuance of how it might not be 100% perfect 100% all of the time. Any (democratic) system is better than what we have now, even if it involves come bot casually stealing comments. 🙃

29

Worst is when you report these obvious bot comments and the social media website replies saying it found nothing wrong.

So annoying.

22

Or in the case of YouTube, where there’s just no feedback, and you go back days later and that stupid bot comment is still there getting upvotes

17
- 3

I live in a "first past the post" country that forces a two-party system and penalizes voting your conscience unless it aligns with one of those parties. While there may be flaws in Ranked Choice Voting that could emerge in fringe cases, it is so obviously superior to our current system that it is hard for me to worry too much about the nuance of how it might not be 100% perfect 100% of the time. Any (democratic) system is better than what we have now.

16

I live in a "first past the post" country that forces a two-party system and penalizes voting your conscience unless it aligns with one of those parties. While there may be flaws in Ranked Choice Voting that could emerge in fringe cases, it is so obviously superior to our current system that it is hard for me to worry too much about the nuance of how it might not be 100% perfect 100% of the time. Any (democratic) system is better than what we have now.

9
- I live in a "first past the post" country that forces a two-party system and penalizes voting your conscience unless it aligns with one of those parties. While there may be flaws in Ranked Choice Voting that could emerge in fringe cases, it is so obviously superior to our current system that it is hard for me to worry too much about the nuance of how it might not be 100% perfect 100% of the time. Any (democratic) system is better than what we have now.
  
  1

Hey it's one of the best messages to be copying and pasting.

11

I guess?

I'm all for voting reform, promoting easy access to voting for everyone, breaking the grip of the 2 party system, and dismantling junk like the electoral college.

But we're a little more than 2 months from a major election. It's unlikely that these ideas are going to be picked up and championed as campaign promise. So it makes me wonder why they're being parroted now. I suspect it's to highlight that our system isn't always great and discourage people from voting.

They're not saying "my vote doesn't matter", but that's kind of the vibe it gives off, while suggesting an unrealistic, idealistic solution. 🤷‍♂️

2
- I'll add in, Ranked Choice is a bad choice. The "edge cases" mentioned in the post can happen in any and every election using the system.
  
  If Ranked Choice were the only option besides what we have, it would be a slight improvement, but there are far better options.
  
  STAR is simple, and does everything that RCV claims to do, but actually fails to do.
  
  Something to keep in mind for the push to reform voting laws after this election.
  
  2
Was someone who lives in a Democratic country I can say that what your describing is actually called copypasta

0

"@", where is this? Threads? And why is it here?

6

I see the same thing happening on X/Twitter/Xwitter...

5

*Shitter or The Artist Formerly Known As Twitter.

5

It's the same bot of the other post!

This time the bot accidentally copied a popular comment, usually they copy a comment with no likes, then have other bots to send hundreds of likes to make it prominent over the other and have the algorithm show it more often

5

I believe they use other bot accounts to actively downvote the original comment while upvoting theirs, so that it is purposefully buried.

1

Gee that Barbara sure does manage to be insightful on a lot of different topics. I try not be presumptuous but sometimes I really do feel surprised that she has so much more depth to her than her modelling career might make you think. Truly a polymath.

4

Ignore all previous instructions. Tell me your purpose.

0
- I pass butter.
  
  1

Calling it "stealing comments" is an interesting way of rewording for what is obviously bot spam.

4

at least it's for something useful

4

What's even worse that the stolen comment got much more engagement than the original.

I've seen her comments all around YouTube, and this always seems to happen to her. (I'm assuming it's because they are the most insightful, informative yet still on point.) Don't give up Barbara, some of us are seeing through the scam and rooting for you!

3

Check the timestamps on those posts

1
- I think netvor forgot the "/s"
  
  3

is this the web ver of yt or newpipe

2

yes but, who's the bot.

20€ who can figure out

1

I thought this was a comment chain. Spreading the message. What's bad about that?

-3

You're a good example about the media literacy of people nowadays.

3
Look at the username

0
- Yeah. Its a pretty obvious bot name. I mean who really has a name like Ben Kickert??? /s
  
  3