this post was submitted on 03 Dec 2023
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New study finds bots and fraud farms responsible for 73% of web traffic::undefined

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[–] arandomthought@sh.itjust.works 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Holy shit, thinking of all the resources that are just wasted for this shit... Imagine you could just slash all web infrastructures by two thirds.

[–] JDubbleu@programming.dev 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I really hate the phrase "bots" because it gives the appearance that they're all useless and malicious. I guarantee you they lumped in the following extremely valid uses of "bots":

  • Automated personal scripts that many programmers use, these are technically bots. Hell, I use a "bot" to auto-clip digital Safeway coupons
  • Moderation bots on sites like Lemmy/Reddit
  • Archive efforts

Are AI chatbots bots? If they use a loose enough definition all this means is humans utilize fuck tons of automation over the Internet, both programmers and not.

[–] Riccosuave@lemmy.world 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I use a "bot" to auto-clip digital Safeway coupons

How?

[–] Decoy321@lemmy.world 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

They go, "hey bot, would you please clip me some Safeway coupons?"

Then the bot goes and gets their little bot scissors and their bot newspaper, then clips up some coupons and hands them to OP.

It's a pretty endearing sight.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Then the bot goes and gets their little bot scissors

But digitally.

and their bot newspaper,

But digitally.

then clips up some coupons

But digitally.

and hands them to OP.

But digitally.

They said we'd all be living in a VR world by now back in the 90s!

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world -1 points 11 months ago

I had some good times with your mom last night. But digitally.

[–] JeffKerman1999@sopuli.xyz 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Yeah dead internet. And I hope this news will kill online marketing for good

[–] 3TH4Li4@feddit.ch 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

As long as real users exist on the internet, marketing will follow. If centralized social media will be even more of a shithole than already is, then they will slowly target the decentralized. You won't escape marketing.

[–] CaptainSpaceman@lemmy.world 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

But if 73% of traffic is fake, and they monitor traffic to determine sentiment and marketing strategies, then who are they actually marketing TO?

[–] CosmicCleric@lemmy.world -1 points 11 months ago

Those left over who are still human.

But you do bring up a great point, what happens when the Internet is nothing but bots/shills?

[–] sennheisenberg@lemmy.sdf.org 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

"73% of web traffic" does not mean 73% of comments, posts, content, etc.

[–] indepndnt@lemmy.world 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

It amazes me when I spin up some random server on a cloud provider and it's immediately getting tons of traffic from bots searching for insecure ssh servers and default WordPress admin credentials and then like. If that's the short of stuff they're counting, I'd believe it. But yeah, it's not like all the commenters on this post are bots.

[–] CosmicCleric@lemmy.world -1 points 11 months ago

But yeah, it’s not like all the commenters on this post are bots.

What percentage would you guess that are bots as commenters?

[–] paddirn@lemmy.world 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

More evidence for the Dead Internet Theory

[–] 3TH4Li4@feddit.ch 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Not yet but soon it will be

[–] CosmicCleric@lemmy.world -1 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Death by a thousand ~~cuts~~ bot/shill posts.

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world -1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

100% on Twitter, 150% on Facebook. Or maybe the other way around 🤷

[–] dreamer@lemm.ee 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

How are you about to do that on Facebook? I can't even sign up without it asking for my ID

[–] sanguine_artichoke@midwest.social 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I had an account for about 10 years which I never used at first, then a fair bit for 3-4 years, linked it to Instagram and WhatsApp. Then I didn’t sign into Facebook for 2-3 years and when I tried, despite having the same email and using the linked IG accounts, they demanded my drivers license. Uh, no way in hell I’ll ever do that, so guess I’m not signing into stupid Facebook. Not sure who the hell they think they are or why they believe I’d consider their awful website so important as to send them my ID.

[–] CosmicCleric@lemmy.world -1 points 11 months ago

I didn’t sign into Facebook for 2-3 years and when I tried, despite having the same email and using the linked IG accounts, they demanded my drivers license. Uh, no way in hell I’ll ever do that, so guess I’m not signing into stupid Facebook.

Curious if you give Discord your phone number?