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Original poster

Fake threads

2 replies

HeadDeskHeadDesk · 07/12/2025 14:27

Hi MNHQ

I am one of many posters who, in recent months, has noticed and often commented on the sheer volume of posts, usually in AIBU, that have had all the hallmarks of a fake thread designed to drive traffic.

They read like those long-winded 'dilemmas' posted on Bored Panda or 5 Minute Crafts or similar, that pop up on our facebook feeds. The issues are always along a similar theme, some sort of family problem or dilemma that is bound to divide opinion and lead to a fierce debate on a long running thread.

I can always spot them. They are posted in the morning, the OP usually has no other posts under that user name, or just one or two anodyne responses on other people's threads within the previous 48 hours to give the illusion of a regular poster. Even the user names chosen seem to follow a predictable theme. There is rarely, if ever any further engagement on the thread they've started, even though they have asked for advice and opinions for this 'problem' and got 10 pages of feedback. If there is any engagement it's brief and not as involved as you'd expect it to be. Again,I feel this only happens once people have voiced misgivings that the thread might not be real, as if to reassure us that the poster is genuine, but there is clearly no real interest in engaging in the thread they started.

Usually when people call out the OP on a thread for possibly trolling, lying or making up stories, MNHQ starts smacking wrists for troll hunting. Yet I've noticed when it happens on these 'baity' sort of threads, there is no reaction from MNHQ.

Mumsnet, I'd like to know the truth because I feel like we are being taken for fools just to keep your site turning over and your advertisers happy.

Do you, or do you not PAY for people or bots to create content in the form of fake threads? Either content creation services, or people who already work for MNHQ? Yes or no?

Or do you use AI to make them up and just post them yourselves?

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MNHQ

JoMumsnet · 07/12/2025 17:36

Hi HeadDeskHeadDesk,

This is an easy one to answer. We have never and would never pay people or bots to create fake threads. It's a no to all of your questions!

If you suspect that a thread is not genuine, all we ask is that you report it to us so we can check things out behind the scenes. If the OP's new to the site we try to give the benefit of the doubt, but obviously if there are any matches showing with previously banned accounts we'll take the thread down.

MNHQ

JustineMumsnet · 08/12/2025 11:21

Hi all,

Thanks for the posts. The question of MNHQ creating or commissioning certain threads comes up a lot, and even more so now it’s so easy to generate posts with AI, which naturally creates more suspicion. So it’s worth addressing clearly. We don’t create threads ourselves, we don’t pay anyone to do it, and we don’t use bots or AI to seed traffic. We’ve never done this and we are absolutely committed to maintaining Mumsnet as a space for human interaction.

As with any large anonymous forum, some posts won’t be genuine. That’s just the reality of the internet, but we’ve seen no evidence of any organised effort targeting Mumsnet. When trolling does happen, the motives tend to be far more mundane - attention-seeking, mischief, or trying to rile women on one of the few big sites that isn’t male-dominated.

We know some posters are frustrated when an OP doesn’t return or when a username looks random. Just to clarify: lots of posters choose not to come back to threads, and our system offers random usernames at sign-up, so that doesn’t indicate trolling either.

What often gets lost is the other side of this. We regularly hear from posters who come to Mumsnet during very difficult periods, only to be accused of trolling because their situation sounds unlikely or they haven’t replied quickly enough. Some have told us it put them off seeking help entirely. That’s why we don’t allow troll hunting. Our guidelines say we’d rather risk being taken in than wrongly accuse someone who genuinely needs support.

We are working on technical tools to make life harder for bad-faith posters and easier for everyone else. In the meantime, if you spot something that seems off, please report it and we’ll take a proper look.

Thanks again for raising it.

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