87,000 Upvotes for a Lie: The AI-Generated Reddit Hoax That Fooled the Internet

The internet's biggest viral story this week was a total fabrication. A supposed whistleblower from a food delivery app garnered over 87,000 upvotes on Reddit and 36.8 million impressions on X, only to be exposed as a highly sophisticated AI-generated Reddit hoax. The post alleged systemic exploitation of drivers, playing on existing public distrust to spark massive engagement.

Inside the AI-Generated Reddit Hoax and the Fake Badge

Journalist Casey Newton of Platformer nearly fell for the trap. The hoaxer didn't just write a post; they provided an 18-page technical document outlining a fictional 'desperation score' used by UberEats. Newton noted that for most of his career, such a detailed document would have seemed highly credible because it would've taken immense effort to create—effort that AI can now automate in seconds.

Detection via Google SynthID and Gemini

The hoax was finally dismantled using Google Gemini. By analyzing the fake employee badge shared via Signal, the tool identified a SynthID watermark, proving the image was synthetic. Max Spero, founder of Pangram Labs, told TechCrunch that 'AI slop' is worsening, with companies now paying for fake organic engagement on platforms like Reddit using LLM-generated content.