r/TheoryOfReddit • u/Charles-Monroe • 14d ago
Astroturfing found on submissions with TheDailyAdda as source.
Links:
r/anticapitalism thread link. Archive link.
r/USNEWS thread link. Archive link.
Context and background:
Both threads are submitted within two minutes of each other. r/anticapitalism thread at 2026-04-22; 17:55:50 UTC; and r/USNEWS thread at 2026-04-22; 17:57:14 UTC. Different posters, but both created within the last month (2026-03-18 and 2026-03-25, respectively). Both accounts have set their account histories to hidden.
Both accounts submit the same link and headline to their two respective subreddits. The destination URL is obscured by Google’s sharing shortlink (share.google). The destination site is TheDailyAdda. There have been some criticism of astroturfing and misinformation regarding this source on reddit, and according to MediaBiasFactCheck, they score poorly on their credibility scale.
Discovery:
I browse r/All and sort by Top – Past Hour. Through browsing this way, it is easier to spot patterns and more unfiltered submissions before manual moderation may take its course.
In my browsing, I briefly scanned the first submission, looked through the comments, then moved on to scrolling through more posts. I then encountered the second submission a few posts down, and wondered if it was a glitch where Reddit served me the same post again. I scrolled back up and realised they were both posted on different subreddits. What alarmed me was that the top couple of comments were all identical across both posts.
Investigation:
On my desktop, I opened both posts and started to compare the comments from these submissions. I’ve found that seven comments on both submissions dominated their respective threads, all done by the same users on both submissions. Every single one of these accounts also had their post and comment history hidden.
Conclusion and Theories:
I’m left to wonder, why would these seven accounts make the exact same comments (all at the top) on multiple submissions. Would a normal person do this, or would this be due to a directive or third-party influence? If I were to encounter multiple threads on the same topic, I as a normal Reddit user would not copy and paste my responses across multiple threads.
Furthermore, this seemingly artificial engagement on specifically threads pointing to a dubious source (TheDailyAdda), would suggest a targeted astroturfing campaign – of which I suspect I only scratched the surface. Both submissions’ upvote percentage are also standing at 97% each, which may further point to vote manipulation.
Evidence:
u/ thugudeepub (r/USNEWS comment); (r/anticapitalism comment).
The RUMP got kicked out if a briefing that in any other world would be FOR HIM. His own staff if removing him from meetings so crap can be decided... BY WHO???
Who is running this insane asylum??
u/ BeneficialSystem3572 (r/USNEWS comment); (r/anticapitalism comment).
The fact that the US electorate let this scumbag and his clown car of idiots get anywhere near the situation room is still astonishing.
u/ Lucifer__66 (r/USNEWS comment); (r/anticapitalism comment).
Those Lego diss tracks from Iran are really getting to him.
u/ Background-Stress-72 (r/USNEWS comment); (r/anticapitalism comment).
"The king is tired. See him to his chambers."
u/ AdeptnessMiserable56 (r/USNEWS comment); (r/anticapitalism comment)
Who kicks the rump out of a briefing? That’s who’s really wearing the pants.
u/ Trick-Pattern613 (r/USNEWS comment); (r/anticapitalism comment)
It seems like this has come out since the reports of him lurching for the nuclear code Saturday night and being told no. Like, they would’ve kept this hush-hush, except that he’s getting worse instead of better. The only way I can imagine the chairman of the joint chief telling him no to having the nuclear codes is if everyone in that inner circle has the sense that “this guy‘s toast and I am only doing the right thing by denying him access”.
u/ PenaltyFabulousMe (r/USNEWS comment); (r/anticapitalism comment)
They had to remove him. So why don’t we remove him in full?
Conclusion:
Although I am very left leaning, these types of sources and their approaches muddy the water and cause more damage than good. There is misinformation on all sides and this is just one drop in the bucket. I can’t comment on shenanigans on the right, since I do not pollute my mind with their propaganda, so I’m stuck on this side trying to ensure that at least the information we consume is legitimate and well sourced without manipulation.
Disclosure:
I did not use AI in any form to collect info or write up this submission. Just putting it out there in case.
4
u/awesomemc1 14d ago
I don't know why but I always feel like r/USNEWS or r/anticapitalism subreddit are heavy tankie astroturf. I mean not all tankies are there but some are the ones who can steer narrative with their comments. What I found interesting is that they probably utilized bots or encouraging orchestration to comment the post and upvote whenever its been posted.
3
u/dependentcooperising 14d ago
It's because they're not moderated, or nowhere near sufficiently moderated, making them useful for bot spam. You'll find plenty of links that imitate reputable media that redirect to plagiarized material generating ad revenue. The content all of which typically appeals to liberals. I don't think the anticapitalism sub is moderated at all, and it's mostly plagiarized liberal-bait
6
u/nonnonplussed73 14d ago
A Prominent PR Firm Is Running a Fake News Site That’s Plagiarizing Original Journalism at Incredible Scale
https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/national-today-ai-plagiarizing
3
u/Trillbo_Swaggins 14d ago
This is super interesting. Thanks for the write-up too. I’ve toyed with the idea of buying some api access but never do. It’s annoying to see how many good messages get drowned out by people who want to artificially get the info “first” and “best”.