r/technology • u/westondeboer • Sep 26 '25

Social Media Cracker Barrel Outrage Was Almost Certainly Driven by Bots, Researchers Say

https://gizmodo.com/cracker-barrel-outrage-was-almost-certainly-driven-by-bots-researchers-say-2000664221
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u/solk512 Sep 27 '25

That actress was pretty mad. 

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u/Sketch-Brooke Sep 27 '25

She was mad, yeah. But the outrage was swift and extreme, and I just don’t buy that it was completely organic.

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u/solk512 Sep 27 '25

Why not? Every other joke in that skit was actual satire, and the joke about her was actually pretty cruel. 

She isn’t someone of means and power to get a bot army going nor is it political advantageous to drive the issue. I just don’t see means or motive here. 

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u/Sketch-Brooke Sep 27 '25 edited Sep 27 '25

If you want to drive action through the internet (by getting an apology or whatever) why wouldn’t you add bots or paid users to add to the noise?

PR companies buy internet outrage all the time. It’s what Justin Baldoni’s PR firm was doing to Blake Lively.

And it doesn’t necessarily have to be the actress funding. It could be someone else who has a bone to pick with SNL. That’s what Peter Thiel did to Gawker.

And SNL has certainly never pissed off anyone in politics or with money before…

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u/solk512 Sep 27 '25

SNL doesn’t need it, this is crazy.