Algorithm bug floods Reddit with Trump posts
Source: Rishabh Jain
Posted with permission from International Business Times
A bug in an algorithm for its website caused chaos on Reddit on Thursday as it got flooded with posts from the unofficial Donald Trump subreddit.
“My understanding is a database update caused the process that updates /r/all to stop working properly, The long and short of it is that /r/the_donald is incredibly active voting wise, so when the algorithm [that] sorts /r/all broke [...] that subreddit was the one to be pulled into the vortex,” Reddit admin Redtaboo posted.
The website was working properly since at least 10:50 p.m. EDT on Oct. 27, 2016, Gizmodo reported.
Some users speculated that Trump supporters hacked the page but /r/pics moderator’s post allthefoxes described the issue as a “bug” without giving more details on what caused it.
On the Trump subreddit the_donald, users called the bug a “false flag” operation and called on Reddit to delete the page and discredit it. One of the posts even asked readers to “stay vigilant” as Reddit admins might accuse Trump supporters of hacking, vote manipulation or other causes to shut down the subreddit.
Redtaboo also said that the_donald subreddit got connected to /r/all due to active voting on the subreddit and clarified that the website was not censoring the_donald.
Reddit has been a battleground between supporters of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, with Republican supporter Joshua Lorenz, who is also a council member of Murrysville City, Pennsylvania, accusing the Hillary campaign of trying to rig the election. The pro-Trump subreddit was accused of publicizing a hoax picture on Facebook, rumored to be circulated by Clinton's campaign that told people they could vote online from home.
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