#SpamBots

[creature-wizard]

So, I've seen two blogs responding to random people's posts with a long screed that starts out with:

[username redacted] [username redacted] you didnt cause all of my suffering,but you caused MOST of it. You dont listen, you don't care what YOU DID to my life. Permanent seizures, beatings, PTSD: abuse is abuse. Youre rich and dont have to care, but it was everything to me [url redacted]

If you see these blogs, please report them for spam.

[sunsetsands]

Just a warning to everyone: There is a new type of spambot barraging the ace and aro tags. They advertise opportunities to work for FedEx.

Please report any accounts you see making posts that look like this. It’s unlikely that staff will actually do anything, since they seem far more preoccupied with banning trans people and Palestinians, but it’s better than doing nothing.

[bebe-benzenheimer]

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

When the online form first launched, it lacked a CAPTCHA, which savvy Twitter users quickly used to their advantage by using bots to spam the site. Users also employed a generator to churn out fake names and fake Missouri addresses. Others just dumped text into the complaint form, ranging from the entire script of the “Bee Movie,” to Billy May’s OxiClean sales pitch, to Walter White’s introductory monologue in “Breaking Bad.” TikTok users said they submitted the “most raunchiest fanfic from AO3” and “a saucy love story of Mario and Luigi.”

“I knew those weird fanfics I read at 3am would come in handy,” one TikTok commenter said.  

Many submitted elaborate anecdotes of woke moms taking their kids “to the corner gender clinic to get transed” and complaints of “too many men getting gender affirming care via viagra.” Another tip referencing “The Crucible” joked, “I saw goody proctor injecting estrogen with the devil.”

The tip form added a CAPTCHA on Thursday, but that alone wasn’t enough to deter the trolls. The form was removed from the attorney general’s site by Friday morning. 

Spamming tip forms, colloquially referred to by detractors as “snitch lines,” isn’t new. Texas’ abortion whistleblower site was shut down in 2021 after activists flooded it with Shrek porn. Amid mass protests following the death of George Floyd in 2020, activists spammed law enforcement agency tip lines with K-pop fancams and videos of police brutality against protestors. Relentless trolling has become a form of protest against draconian surveillance.

[wealmostaneckbeard]

Just went through my followers list and purged a bunch of spam bots. If you follow me without liking or reblogging my stuff, I'm blocking and possibly reporting you. Reblog this if you've done or will do the same.

[the-pen-pot]

TL;DR Report this stuff as SPAM or tags get over-run.

---

So bots are turning up in my tags again. This time thought it's not explicit nudity it's just, you know, dubious tag spam like:

You can report it specifically as spam using the meatball menu (and you should) because otherwise these assholes take over a tag and it's ridiculous.

Tag spam is defined pretty much as any irrelevant tag used in an effort to boost post visibility. These bots use botnets to like the post, therefore pushing it to the top of the tag.

Don't report posts like this as sexually explicit, because technically they're not.

[janewaykove]

Spammer alert!

This guy has been messaging me for days. He says hes new on here, says he's in the military, says he thought I was interesting and a kind soul, etc. Tries to be nice and say what he thinks I need to hear (wants to sit with me so I'm not lonely....wtf). His photo shows up online being used multiple places as other people. He says he could tell by my posts that I'm kind, blah blah. Which makes zero sense cos me posting celebrities doesn't exactly reveal me as caring, lol! The only way he's interacted with me is privately and when I asked if he knew my name (it's right in my description at the top of our messages), he said no but would like to. I got bored and said I knew he was spam and would be reporting him. Just a heads' up. Oh, he sent me a military ID and said it's proof that's him. Yet the photo shows online as being used in scams. Then tells me he saw my name on my page but didn't know if it was my real name. Cos I'm just some stupid girl falling for everything he says. Derp.

Edit: What ticks me off about spammers is when they turn into the victim. "You made me sad." Oh gee, I am so sorry I hurt your fake feelings. Mr. Spammer! Plus he said nobody else can use his photo cos it's his private photo. Um, okay, so when I use Google lens and it shows it's a commonly used photo with scammers, as long as he says nobody can use it, it must be true. Good grief.

Edit 2: After I pointed out all the red flags, he said "You must' have gone mad. No wonder I blocking you." Yeah, that looks legit.

[auroblaze]

Heads up. There are bots that are now stealing fanart posts from people and linking to malware.

I came across the user lucky maker cycle (Without spaces.) which stole your art along with other's.

So I've been informed! About that very same bot too, I already reported it 👍✨ Thank you very much for the heads up anyway!

[marlynnofmany]

Today in "Reports From Elsewhere," the spambots on BlueSky have a distinctive name pattern that would make some excellent usernames here. It's tragic, really.

Anyways, tag yourself; I'm Highfalutin Alligator.

[arcanetrivia]

ummm...

I'm 99% sure this is a spambot, but i'm LOLing over the fact that they apparently tagged this post "campbell bain" because it contained the word "bain", i.e., bath 🤣

[kushamisaru]

Tumblr: Hey we're gonna be downsizing soon so things may be slower-

Pornbots:

[lizardsfromspace]

The tags on pornbot spam posts...

Creepy. The Blacklist. Wrestlemania? Ladybug and Cat Noir? Barry Allen and Lorde? Scripture? My Little Pony? George Floyd???

SPAMANO. Bit on the nose there chief. What even is that? Oh wait, it's the tag for a Hetalia ship?

Wide net to cast for a post whose 72 notes...are all likes from other bots

[stardustdiver]

doing the job tumblr staff barely does, keeping the asexual tag sfw and spam free, well trying to

report for something else, then spam or sexually explicit ive found gets you more (or atleast confirmed) results than the quick report

[thedurvin]

What do y’all think about this spambot name, happy coincidence from a random name generator or are they just sticking “sexy” in front of minor historical figures?

[spaghetticat3899]

The amount of spam underneath this tag is absurd

[sn0id]