r/technology • u/Wagamaga • Feb 06 '23

True stories get more Reddit upvotes than fake news - Ohio study Social Media

https://m.jpost.com/science/article-730654
1.2k Upvotes
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92% Upvoted

90 comments sorted by

416

u/[deleted] Feb 06 '23

[deleted]

146

u/spinereader81 Feb 06 '23

Such a polite way for them to say arguments.

91

u/SIGMA920 Feb 06 '23

Being able to disagree and not give up nuance is still more complex than 140 character limit responses. Reddit has it's problems but it's better than being shit at best.

30

u/rocketlauncher2 Feb 06 '23

Reddit needs to stop being down on itself, there’s a lot going for it

19

u/Kaeny Feb 07 '23

Being self critical is how we stay humble

14

u/worldpotato1 Feb 06 '23 edited Feb 06 '23

Tbf you can use 280 character on twitter. But I agree.

Biggest problem at reddit are lazy bad moderators. On reddit level and on subreddit level.

14

u/QuietGiygas56 Feb 06 '23

Or mods that get so easily offended and go on power trips with perma bans over the smallest things

6

u/worldpotato1 Feb 06 '23

You are right, corrected my comment.

5

u/QuietGiygas56 Feb 06 '23

It's both lazy and bad

8

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '23 edited Feb 07 '23

That's true, but also means that those bad mods are only ever limited to their subs, and never indicative of reddit as a whole.

So when Elon fucks up Twitter, the whole site suffers. A shitty reddit mod is limited to just their subreddit.

I've always said that reddit's decentralized, bottom-up moderation is why it remains the best social network.

There will never be perfect moderation, but reddit's model is the best I've seen so far.

Also, reddit's moderation model is how the communities can feel large and small at the same time.

So even with a platform of tens of millions of users the best subs are often the tiny ones.

Those tiny, hidden subs are kind of the backbone of reddit's "culture," and it's often curated by some really online nerd who is way to obsessed with succulents or 5th century architecture or whatever.

Reddit moderation is a labor of love by normal users. Which sometimes sucks, but is the best system we have so far.

3

u/achillymoose Feb 07 '23

Reddit's problems seem to reflect humanity's problems

1

u/nicuramar Feb 07 '23

Downvotes aren’t very complex, though. And they (and upvotes) are often used to reinforce established sub consensus, right or wrong.

1

u/SIGMA920 Feb 07 '23

Yet more often than not, there are people commenting.

3

u/BigDaddyCoolDeisel Feb 07 '23

Fuck you, pal!

(/s)

2

u/MrTacobeans Feb 07 '23

Excuse me it's called discourse...

1

u/HeavensCriedBlood Feb 07 '23

Not trying to argue, but that's not what it's saying AT ALL.

1

u/VladTepesz Feb 07 '23

No, they're not!

2

u/Jabber-Wookie Feb 07 '23

Yes, they are!

1

u/Notyourfathersgeek Feb 06 '23

They’re not saying “arguments” at all!?

1

u/dangerbird2 Feb 06 '23

No it isn't

1

u/nowaijosr Feb 07 '23

Hey u wot m8, havin a lark? 1v1 me bruh... in comments.

11

u/Valvador Feb 06 '23

I wonder if they did the same verification on fringe subreddits whether they would come to the same conclusion?

3

u/SchemataObscura Feb 07 '23

There is also a lot of culture building on Reddit, just think of all of the social norms and inside jokes that disseminate without effort - just through participation.

2

u/nicuramar Feb 07 '23

But please don’t miss a joke or sarcasm, or you’re downvoted to hell. Votes are among my least favorite features.

2

u/Explicit_Tech Feb 07 '23

Same why I'm here. Users keep us in check. The culture here is better.

19

u/roninXpl Feb 06 '23

This story has very little upvotes.

7

u/BoltTusk Feb 07 '23

Well it is from Ohio

3

u/PsychologicalStep210 Feb 07 '23

Well, it is Ohio.

1

u/littleMAS Feb 07 '23

Obviously questionable, eh?

52

u/2KoolAwYe Feb 06 '23

true

I must have a different standard for that compared to who wrote the study

A lot of news posted on Reddit are """true""" in the sense they're based on a true story but the post title is quite often misleading when you compare it to the articles content and often include barely related bland pandering quotes to appeal to a wider audience

I wouldn't exactly call those "true stories" when everything on the site surrounding most stories is quite often made up by people who only read the post title

13

u/Notyourfathersgeek Feb 06 '23

Yeah but other places online all of the content is a straight up lie, not just the headline lol

6

u/2KoolAwYe Feb 06 '23

When the entire thread is usually people making shit up via extrapolation, I don't see much difference

3

u/Hey_its_thatoneguy Feb 07 '23

I think you’re right, there’s a lot of that, but I also encounter a lot of incredible people that do in depth research and back it up with attaching links to sources and other proof. Reddit can be an incredible place, you just have to wade through all of the Shit to find it.

2

u/fardough Feb 07 '23

I tend to find the truth rises to the top in Reddit. Top comments usually are either funny or one point.

1

u/nicuramar Feb 07 '23

Or at least the “correct” opinion ;)

0

u/2KoolAwYe Feb 07 '23

You also get the same stuff on other platforms btw

12

u/Competitive-Wave-850 Feb 07 '23

We did it! We saved the internet!!!

4

u/YEETMANdaMAN Feb 07 '23

We did it reddit!

10

u/musofiko Feb 06 '23

So this study took into account all of the bots that plague the internet to I am sure right.

4

u/KHRoN Feb 06 '23

Now I’m scared to upvote this

8

u/cptnamr7 Feb 06 '23

Can't wait for this article to get reposted under the title "I wrote this"...

3

u/Tackleberry06 Feb 06 '23

Cause people want to troll. Not be trolled.

3

u/saaasaab Feb 07 '23

If this were an M Night Shyamalan movie, the article would be completely made up

5

u/iBeelz Feb 07 '23

Idk this kind of claim makes me skeptical. There’s still a ton of bs and opinion in the major feeds here. I’ll continue to be weary.

2

u/DannyTheHero Feb 08 '23

This mentality apparently is one of the reasons for the results described in the article? Keep it up I guess.

Also small correction:
Wary = to be cautious
Weary = being (very) tired

Could imagine either applying though lmao

1

u/iBeelz Feb 08 '23

My autocorrect knew what my real feelings were apparently (I meant wary). Thank you Siri and Mr. Hero.

5

u/twohundred37 Feb 06 '23

Oh weird. Genuine stories are better than fabricated content. Huh.

6

u/ThatGreenBastard Feb 06 '23

Down-voting since this is certainly not true.

12

u/Notyourfathersgeek Feb 06 '23

Down-voting since this is certainly not true.

2

u/thescoobymike Feb 06 '23

Both of you are wroinhgt

2

u/uglykidjoel Feb 06 '23

Wasn't sure if this is a up vote....any1 know? What are the facts? What was the double blind?

2

u/Notyourfathersgeek Feb 06 '23

SCREAMS IN CONFUSION

2

u/OperationOrihime Feb 07 '23 edited Feb 07 '23

Comparing other social media apps, it feels like reddit has the most real people. I can ask something and instead of getting 20 mixed or unrelated comments someone will just respond with helpful info. Sometimes, it's easier to type "how do to xyz reddit" for the reddit results because they are (usually...) accurate, full of consistent tips people have tried or painfully discovered over time, and get straight to the point more than everything else

Edit: Reddit still has a lot of issues (for example the bad moderation system) and there are always communities that feel like brain rot but what I described is like the main reason I use it

2

u/GetsTrimAPlenty2 Feb 07 '23

No wonder Reddit has trouble making money. The purpose of social media is to spread fake news, and Reddit does poorly at it; So it can't reap in that sweet sweet Russian and Chinese blood money.

-1

u/dangerbird2 Feb 06 '23

No one dares to post misinformation lest they get achshually'ed into oblivion

0

u/Galvanized-Sorbet Feb 07 '23

I traded in my Twitter account for Reddit before Lord Musk took over and I must say I have zero regrets

-15

u/808Dave_ Feb 06 '23

Oh, please don't make us laugh. We all know this snake pit is b°t dominated, the stories that get to the front page are carefully selected for the masses. Truth and unpopular opinions get cens°red automatically. P°werm°ds ban for whatever reason they feel like that day. This place is worse than twitter.

12

u/tscy Feb 06 '23

Jfc just type normal ‘o’s

3

u/ClearlyDemented Feb 06 '23

They’re trying to avoid the FB fact checkers

2

u/tscy Feb 06 '23

So are they lost or, like, did their tinfoil hat fall off?

1

u/ClearlyDemented Feb 07 '23

Probably paranoid

4

u/MelodicaSongs Feb 06 '23

I don’t think I’ve ever even seen the front page. My home feed is classy as hell.

0

u/SIGMA920 Feb 06 '23

My home feed is classy as hell.

You use the personal feed on purpose?

3

u/MelodicaSongs Feb 06 '23

Um.. yeah? Am I missing something? I’m only interested in seeing and engaging in subs that I’m interested in. If a sub is toxic, I get rid of it. 🤷🏻‍♂️

0

u/SIGMA920 Feb 06 '23

But you're using the the personal feed, if you're only interested in seeing and engaging with subs you're interested in you could just save it as a link and visit it directly.

The only time I go to the personal feed is when I misclick or get autoredirected to it.

1

u/FeckThul Feb 06 '23

Then maybe... leave us in peace and go back to Twitter?

-1

u/IH4v3Nothing2Say Feb 06 '23 edited Feb 06 '23

There’s subreddits for basically any topic you want.

Let me spell it out for you in terms of politics: each news related subreddit is some form of far-left to far-right ideals. If your opinions are unpopular in one, then go to another subreddit. Or, take the time to learn some empathy, and try to understand other people’s views from their perspective.

You can still have your own beliefs, but being angry that your ideas and beliefs aren’t popular is ridiculous. This isn’t a news site, most people on here aren’t paid for their activity on Reddit. Keep in mind you might be getting angry at someone who is paid to make people similar to you angry.

-3

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '23

[deleted]

0

u/Gary_Vigoda Feb 07 '23

This is an article from JPost which isn't even close to a neutral outlet.

-1

u/nubsauce87 Feb 06 '23

Shocking. It's almost as if people don't like being lied to...

1

u/Fenix42 Feb 06 '23

Yet, people like lieing.

-1

u/LeekGullible Feb 07 '23

That's cause Redditors ain't stupid like those twits.

1

u/striker69 Feb 06 '23

I read it on reddit

1

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '23

we are so intelligent

*le bottomless pit sign appears above head

1

u/Ein_Reddit_User Feb 07 '23

Ohio article with little upvotes

1

u/forksporkspoon Feb 07 '23

This is a real paid study? I'm in the wrong biz.

1

u/antoni_o_newman Feb 07 '23

Maybe because most news articles are impossible to read in 2023?

1

u/bdavisx Feb 07 '23

They don't on /r/AITA (am I the asshole) or /r/tifu (today I fucked up).

1

u/EMANUEL_II Feb 07 '23

Only in ohio

1

u/Gazwa_e_Nunnu_Chamdi Feb 07 '23

looks like a paid article by reddit, reddit ipo is coming soon.

1

u/Needy_Greedy_Feedy Feb 07 '23

This is why Reddit is the best platform. Unlike others, your post can get attention even if you don't have any follower.

1

u/Inconceivable-2020 Feb 07 '23

It depends on the sub. It is certainly not true in r/Conservative.

1

u/Historical_Koala_688 Feb 08 '23

That’s why I left bookface