Harris Campaign Accused Of Coordinated Reddit Manipulation
An investigation has uncovered a systematic manipulation of Reddit by the Harris-Walz campaign, allegedly to inflate the vice president’s online popularity as the 2024 presidential election approaches.
The campaign reportedly issues detailed daily plans through its Discord server. The campaign assigns volunteers, referred to as "Lead Posters," the task of posting content that appears organic to avoid triggering Reddit's spam filters.
Strategic Posting to Influence Voters
The campaign's efforts focus on influential Reddit forums, particularly the "Politics" subreddit. Activities are meticulously tracked via a Google Spreadsheet that monitors the reach and engagement of each post.
Over a period of 15 days, these orchestrated efforts resulted in 2,551 posts which collectively garnered over 5.7 million upvotes and approximately 418,000 comments, amplifying the campaign’s visibility significantly.
According to leaked documents, this large-scale manipulation involves over 100 targeted subreddits designed to spread what the campaign calls "Daily Messaging Guidance."
Manipulation Tactics Exposed by Investigation
The Federalist's investigative team has linked these activities directly to a concerted effort to mislead voters about the level of grassroots support for Harris, likening the scheme to unethical business practices.
“It’s no different than a shady company paying a team to write a bunch of fake Amazon reviews about their product to make it appear to be a better and more popular product than it is,” the Federalist noted in its report.
This operation is not only about flooding Reddit with pro-Harris content but also involves sophisticated strategies to evade detection and punitive action by Reddit's administration.
Violation of Reddit’s Terms and Potential Backlash
The outlined activities violate Reddit’s Terms of Service, which prohibit manipulating content to deceive users. The platform's policies aim to foster genuine discussions rather than manufactured consensus.
Internal discussions among campaign staff have reportedly included strategies for avoiding detection by Reddit moderators, highlighting a calculated approach to this deceptive strategy.
Reddit has not yet responded to requests for comment on the matter, but the exposure of this strategy could potentially lead to significant consequences for both the platform and the Harris-Walz campaign.
Implications for Election Integrity and Public Trust
This revelation could have profound implications on public trust in both the political process and the integrity of information online, as voters rely on social media platforms for news and discussion about candidates.
If proven true, such tactics could not only hurt the Harris campaign's credibility but also trigger broader concerns about the influence of social media on elections.
The campaign has yet to release an official statement addressing these allegations, leaving many voters concerned about the potential manipulation of their perceptions and the democratic process.