To be suspicious about these very similar posts

[FfaCoff]

All in AIBU, all following a similar formula all with names that are very formulaic too - 3 random words.

So is it mumsnet planting AI written posts to generate discussion?

The same person constantly name changing?

What do we reckon?

So I asked it to generate a typical Mumsnet post which I’ll paste below. It’s got a lot of typical tells, but bear in mind it’s unedited and a lot of people who use AI will edit it a little to try and make it more obvious:

Subject: AIBU to be annoyed about DH’s idea of “babysitting” his own kids?

Hi all,

Bit of a rant incoming – sorry in advance!

So DH (darling husband – although “darling” is doing a LOT of heavy lifting right now) has just texted me at work saying he’s “babysitting” the kids tonight so I can go to my friend’s birthday dinner. Which, on the face of it, sounds nice… except THEY’RE HIS CHILDREN TOO.

I mean, how is it babysitting when it’s literally just… parenting? He acts like he deserves a medal every time he’s left alone with them for more than an hour. Meanwhile, I’m expected to juggle work, school runs, packed lunches, laundry, and organising a birthday party for 25 sugar-fuelled six-year-olds while also pretending to enjoy the 17 WhatsApp group chats I’ve somehow ended up in.

Also, let’s be real – by “babysitting” he means letting them stay up late eating Wotsits while he watches Match of the Day and pretends he can’t hear the three-year-old shouting that she’s weed on the carpet again.

AIBU to find this infuriating?

(Also, just to add – he’s a decent dad most of the time and I do love him, but this mindset is driving me round the bend.)

Yep, there seems to be more and more AI generated posts as well as posts that are clearly made up, possibly by a human being. Then there's all the rude nasty replies when someone posts about a perfectly reasonable topic. Clearly meant to create discussion.
My personal strong dislikes are all the adverts for clothes and beauty products masquerading as genuine queries eg 'What do you think of this dress as a wedding guest outfit" or 'Did you know that a particular shop now sells xyz, it's really helped my skin' etc.

Wow, that AI-generated post is right on the money!!

i am sure i read an thread here, and it was later in a paper, of some sort,
favourite bbc personalities, lots of similarities including Jane somebody, Danny Dyer
weird

I think, even before AI Mumsnet had plants posting as genuine users, not that they’d admit it.

I also swear that they just repost old threads sometimes but with an update date. Like I can remember the initial posts and all of the subsequent replies!

This reads so much like so many posts on here at the moment 😂

And of course, I just said to generate a typical post. I could have tailored it a lot more by asking it to write about a specific situation with a particular slant, say a post about a cheating husband that makes me look like a total doormat, and it would do that no problem.

Yep I've mentioned this a few times, most of the things I read on here at the minute I just don't believe and it annoys me when people spend their time and energy getting invested in clearly made up scenarios.

They're easy to spot too like others have said, it's just the turn of phrases and ridiculous little added details that give them away a lot of the time. And the repetitive topics because the first post didn't have the desired effect.

I think if it keeps getting worse people will stop trusting Mumsnet as a forum because you want to know you're reacting to a real person. At the minute AIBU just seems to content harvesting and it's really off putting.

Well not the point of the thread but what was the cut up pear? Penis beaker and Sistene Chapel I know but pear I must have missed.

You’ll find most of them in classics.

Even referencing the classics won’t thwart AI because you could just ask it to do that for you!

So many of these at the moment. There’s a type that starts with ridiculous premises just to get a reaction. So pointless. I’m less irritated by the journalists because at least they have a purpose.

Yep and I deliberately didn't open any of those threads.

oh god no!!! Bastard AI! 😀

must admit I've not read cutted up pear - it was written from the point of view of a pissed off toddler I think

I’m always suspicious of suggestions for starting a difficult conversation with’Hey’.

Another new thread posted at 19:46 this evening by ForBreezySloth.

AIBU To think drivers are some of the most self-centred people around?

To be fair, some of the suggested conversation scripts provided by real posters over the years have been more cringey and more flowery than AI could ever manage!

It wouldn't surprise me if it was newspapers as someone suggested too. In fact I'd prefer to think it was that than Mumsnet.

Here's another....

AIBU To think teachers lowkey resent kids?
NattyAzureBalonz · Today 17:58

It's interesting how often the word Eagle comes up in the names.

I think most forums will make their own posts to boost engagement, though, so I’d be very surprised if MN wasn’t doing it (whether they admit it or not). I’m sure newspapers do it too, and AI trainers, people trying to sell things, and trolls…

For sure, but - 'Hey!' . Does anyone in the UK make a habit of starting conversations with that, especially tricky ones.

Tangent, but I'm annoyed that people now think em-dashes and the Oxford comma mean something is AI. I love both, and now I feel self-conscious using them. Incidentally, I use AI daily for work, as well, but my love of a good em-dash goes back decades.

Not long ago, an over-reliance on the word 'ensure' and its variants would have been a dead giveaway, but it seems to have grown out of that (or maybe my repeated wrist slaps have finally had the desired effect on the one I'm using, though it does still try to sneak emojis by me despite frequently being told that they're a no-no).

My boss does 95% of his work on CGPT and we can all spot it from a mile away because of the excessive - use

It’s more that AI uses way more em dashes that it needs to. It often uses them when commas would be the more usual form of punctuation. Obviously, it’s not a foolproof tell and plenty of people use em dashes all the time, but if they’re there in abundance, it’s time to get suspicious.

I’m a fellow Oxford comma fan.

It’s so lazy. It would take seconds to edit them out and make it less obvious.

Yeah, that’s how the rest of us do it 🤣