Recently, I was in the market for a new backpack. As is typical, one of the first avenues of research is reddit.
Into Google went "best backback onebag 2024 reddit".
The first search result was unexpected, linking to a subreddit called "/r/betabattle".
From the get-go, one can smell the spam laden all over this article. A listicle, writing about experiences, but backed with no authority. Links aplenty, all taking you to Amazon via a website called "tickrated.com".
The subreddit is a mud pit of 1 upvote posts from the same user, covering topics from proteins, to camera, to air conditioners, all within the space of a day.
The spam seeps into the comments of these posts. Look at how great the "Ninja AF101" is! Any product mentioned has to be accompanied with a link. As reddit users do on the regular.
A lone moderator keeps vigilant watch, removing any and all comments revealing the truth of the scheme with the chant "Conspiracy nut".
Google has lost the battle - will reddit win theirs?
The prevalence of adding "reddit" to a search result to get useful results has been all the talk lately. The value in reddit comes from the efforts of subreddit moderators weeding out the bulk of spam, allowing real user conversations to thrive.
But users have to make their way onto these communities. For those coming onto reddit with the outside, unfamiliar with the norms, this spam will dissuade them from the rest of the site, fearing it too is riddled with the same AI drivel.
The years of spam being obtuse are well behind us: generative AI has enabled a new generation of spammers, seeking to launder their advertisements into existing communities.
Darshan Hiranadani, either a fake name or a reputation launderer, has begun an assault wave onto practically any Discourse forum willing to take him.
Screenshot of a user called Darshan Hiranadani making spam on forums 
Screenshot of a user called Darshan Hiranadani making spam on forums 
Screenshot of a user called Darshan Hiranadani making spam on forums 
Screenshot of a user called Darshan Hiranadani making spam on forums 
Screenshot of a user called Darshan Hiranadani making spam on forums 
Screenshot of a user called Darshan Hiranadani making spam on forums The floodgates are open, who can withstand the tides the best?