Reddit's AI Spam Problem: A Self-Inflicted Wound?

2025-06-30
Reddit's AI Spam Problem: A Self-Inflicted Wound?

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman admits the platform is battling a flood of AI-generated spam, engaging in an ongoing "arms race" to detect and block these fake posts. The irony? Reddit's deal to sell user posts for AI training – a $60 million agreement with Google – is fueling the problem. To protect this deal, Reddit restricted access, leaving only Google to index its site. Now, companies are using AI bots to create fake posts on Reddit, hoping chatbots will regurgitate this content for better brand visibility. Huffman confirms this, highlighting the never-ending battle against these bots. Reddit users were already upset about their posts being sold for AI training; this escalating spam problem only exacerbates the situation.

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