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Reddit's new paid ads look exactly like user posts

Calling them "free-form ads," Reddit said the new advertisements are its most native format ever, designed to look and feel like community content shared by real people.

The ads, meant to mimic the site's megathreads, will enable advertisers to utilize a variety of formats in one post, including images, videos, and text.

According to numbers from Reddit, free-form ads got 28% more clicks than all other types of ads on the site and saw a jump in community engagement.

The next time you see an interesting post in your Reddit feed, take a closer look - because it might just be a paid advertisement.

DudeImMacGyver ,
@DudeImMacGyver@sh.itjust.works avatar

Gross.

altima_neo ,
@altima_neo@lemmy.zip avatar

Isnt that how they always looked?

ocassionallyaduck ,

First time I accidentally click on one of these I'm going to shit thst post up so hard.

DragonTypeWyvern ,

You could also just not do that

AstralPath ,

Just ditch Reddit. Seriously. Why bother?

ComplexLotus ,

Some nice communities are locked in that deepest level of hell & despair ...

Zedstrian ,

Gotta try to drag a few good people back from Tartarus...

phx ,

Yeah, I figure it does two ways

  1. They get called out quickly and result in a bunch of shitposts or actively blasting the product

  2. They block posting which makes it obvious they're ads and get little too no engagement anyhow

fosstulate ,
@fosstulate@iusearchlinux.fyi avatar

Reddit will program new mod bots to deal with organic responses the advertiser doesn't consider constructive. That opens another revenue stream: charging advertisers for sub-specific bot tweaks.

The interesting question to me is, when does normie realize his sub has been co-opted to function as a focus group, and decide to look for a new forum.

phx ,

Oh, they'll try, but that just means trolling needs to get more creative, like certain Amazon reviews

Sterile_Technique ,
@Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world avatar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification

AnarchistArtificer ,

I honestly find it impressive how Reddit continues to find new ways to enshittify the platform

Qwaffle_waffle ,

It's like they're racing to the bottom with Twitter

AbidanYre ,

Steve does love Elon. It makes sense for Reddit to follow Twitter's lead.

jivandabeast ,

I honestly find it impressive how quickly the word "enshittification" is brought up in Lemmy comments

(/s, but we do talk about it a lot here)

Cold_Brew_Enema ,

You mean like Linux?

I use Ubuntu, btw

FlyingSquid ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

Is it really enshittification if you can just turn it off if you don't like it? Adding useless features alone doesn't seem to be enshittification to me- it's when those useless features become inescapable where the problem lies.

Sterile_Technique ,
@Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world avatar

I mean, I'm here specifically because of enshittification. Had reddit actually gotten better over time, I'd still be there; but every year came with another handful and anti-user bullshit. Finally threw my hands up, said fuck it, deleted my account, and started scouring the internet for an alternative. Eventually stumbled into Lemmy and haven't had a reason to look back.

......I don't think my story here is especially unique, either. Seems just about everyone here is a pissed off ex-redditer, so enshittification is hot on all of our brains.

lolcatnip ,

People who don't care about enshittification, or who don't think about it specifically in connection to Reddit, aren't here because they're using Reddit instead.

moon ,

Why does that dude have his own Wikipedia page lol, and why is it so long

AbidanYre ,

Because he's been a well known author for two decades?

degen ,

^Promoted

This is a great move! Facilitating a direct conversation between corporation and customer is great for all!

RampantParanoia2365 ,

Hmm, article seems to be broken? The picture of the ad format is missing.

notapantsday ,

This feels like something that would be illegal in the EU. I have no idea if it actually is.

Ephera ,

It's illegal here in Germany. Ads need to be clearly recognizable as such.

Yamayo ,

It's an European law, thankfully.

Madeyro ,

So they will serve different frontend for different people based on location?

Ephera ,

Honestly, I expect them to just remain in violation, unless they get sued or reprimanded by one of our user protection organisations.

But yeah, they can serve different frontends or just with different configuration for different user groups. They probably do that already, e.g. to display a cookie banner for users in the EU.

Miaou ,

Yup. Just moving between German and French websites can be a pain in the ass. Default filters in shops, prices with or without taxes displayed first for professional things, different menus etc. They can be different in the most subtle ways, which is way worse imo.

Don't get me started on websites who think they know better than you which website you'd like to visit. Stop redirecting me based on my IP or language settings! OK now I'm just venting sorry

ilinamorato ,

Sounds like you need EXPRESS® VPN™! Use code LEMMY at checkout for 10% off!

(/s, but I hope that was obvious)

cmrn ,

Clicking an image on Twitter and it actually being an external link was the last thing I ever did on that platform.

GlassHalfHopeful ,
@GlassHalfHopeful@lemmy.ca avatar

/me giggles

londos , (edited )

I was curious about the "Philly cream cheese" campaign example they mentioned. I assume it's this post.

The top reply is trolling them, which is awesome. So much for increased engagement.

But even funnier is the next top reply, which seems sincere. But when you look at the user profile, almost all of u/sunshinedogger's comments in the last year are on sponsored posts. So even the positive engagement is manufactured?

reflectedodds ,

Dang good catch on the second user, I wouldn't have noticed since I usually don't look at people's profiles.

It's kind of funny that reddit will become this chamber of advertisers making posts and fake users "engaging" while the real people all migrate to lemmy.

londos ,

I'm also curious if the fake users are part of the campaign or if reddit is scamming the advertisers too.

laughterlaughter ,

Why not both?

slaacaa ,

Absolutely, you cannot trust reddit content anymore. If anybody wants to still visit the site, I recommend you buy and AdBlock Gold subscription, which you can get at half the price now. Link and discount code in my profile

Wiz ,

Ublok Origin on Firefox works great, and is free.

Discount code available for half the price of free!

Gestrid ,

Weren't they also caught using AI bots to drive up engagement in some subreddits, too? (I think it was supposed to be some of their subreddits in foreign languages or something.)

laughterlaughter ,

Did you really think all those positive comments were genuine? I almost puked reading the first few.

ilinamorato ,

I live in the Midwest, and I've actually seen a few of those on plates at potlucks. It is indeed disgusting.

LiveLM ,

Man, reading this post nearly gave me a headache. I hate it when brands try to act all 'hip and cool'.

Help us fill this thread with ways you use PHILLY Cream Cheese that shouldn’t be delicious✨ but are ✨

Yes, something about cream cheese freshly squeezed straight from the brick really does hit different.
Why let a little packaging get between you and your PHILLY, am I right?

Shut up brand. Shut the fuck up brand. Jesus Christ

ilinamorato ,

When it's a social media manager acting like an actual human, it's one thing (like when the person running the Moon Pie account roasted the guy for telling them they were wasting their life), and the non-profits are almost always awesome at this (follow libraries, seriously). But if you're trying to write something relatable and your brand guidelines won't let you write about it in the way a normal human would (all-caps "PHILLY," writing "searching with Google" instead of "googling," ©®™ spam, etc) you've already lost.

laughterlaughter ,

Of course it's manufactured! And I'll bet you a blowjob from my cousin Chester that it's all AI-generated.

swab148 ,
@swab148@startrek.website avatar

furiously googles how to prove that a post is made with AI

gardylou ,
@gardylou@lemmy.world avatar

[Thread, post or comment was deleted by the author]

    •
    Wiz ,

    "As an AI language model..."

    michaelmrose ,

    In a few years my computer will be able to run an acceptable but obviously not chatGPT4 level AI that will among other things pre filter this crap from my feed as part of normal ad blocking. Buckle up bitches.

    GratefullyGodless ,
    @GratefullyGodless@lemmy.world avatar

    So the future is AI ad creators versus AI ad blockers, with all of us caught in the middle. Yay?!

    TheBat ,
    @TheBat@lemmy.world avatar

    Future is the internet populated by bots while humans try to go analog.

    ChewTiger ,

    I'm entertained, I need a book in this universe.

    massacre ,

    That book? It's an advertisement...

    Gestrid ,

    Fortunately, at least in my experience, the adblockers usually win. Even if a company changes something to avoid an adblocker or force someone to turn off their adblocker (Hi, Twitch!), it's usually fixed within just a few hours at most.

    ilinamorato ,

    It'll always be that way. For a user to see your ad you have to let them download your ad, and at that point it becomes like forcing a prisoner to write their own ransom note without your supervision and then letting them drop it in the mailbox themselves.

    fosstulate ,
    @fosstulate@iusearchlinux.fyi avatar

    AI filtering of Reddit isn't the way. The way is leaving the platform. This is beginning to remind me of the 'decrapify Windows' YT videos that offer 20-step multi-application guides for getting a tolerable experience, instead of explaining how to install Mac/Linux. Time spent on a rotten foundation is wasted.

    SoleInvictus ,
    @SoleInvictus@lemmy.world avatar

    I think a lot of the Internet is going to end up shitted up with this kind of nonsense. While leaving Reddit certainly tackles one issue, having a way to filter out the rest of this shit would be useful.

    AnagrammadiCodeina ,

    But in order for it to work you need HI.
    Human Intelligence can help you leave the platform today!

    SuperSpruce ,

    If the article is about how ads look, could they provide a useful picture?

    werefreeatlast ,

    For anyone who is curious, Coca-Cola! Real cocaine in the lower 13 states and real cane sugar! Nothing blasts thirst like the delicious taste of a coca-cola fizzy drink!

    TheTimeKnife ,
    @TheTimeKnife@lemmy.world avatar

    Jesus reddit is run by such massive shitheads.

    waterSticksToMyBalls ,

    My first subreddit to get banned was one dedicated to pointing out obvious ad campaigns.

    Agent641 ,

    "How do you do, fellow redditors? Pray tell, of all the Dodge Ram variants, which one is your favorite, and what make it your choice as a discerning American patriot?"

    humbletightband ,

    And I bet it was banned before the infamous subreddit about underaged girls or even before bans of incel network

    waterSticksToMyBalls ,

    If was that post jail bait but pre incel ban wave if I recall correctly. They said it was targeted harassment/brigandine bc all the posts specifically named the accounts pushing each campaign.

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