Can MN confirm there is no flooding of alleged Reform bots?

[DangerQuakeRhinoSnake]

I find it hard to believe bots would post on this site anyway. Sigh. But the repeated accusations from what I assume are extreme left wing posters of so called "Reform bots" to anyone who might offer a counter opinion, is both wearying and juvenile (imo).

(Notable that this same accusation is rarely - if ever - found to be made in the opposite direction).

Please can MN confirm to all that "Reform bots" are not flooding the site?

I would like to know this too.

I don't think there are loads of bots.

I just think that there are a lot of voters who are very easily manipulated and sadly too stupid to see that voting for Reform would be a monumental act of self harm for the nation.

It is hard to believe that huge swathes of the electorate really are that stupid and full of hate, so of course it's quite comforting to think that they must be bots. Nobody wants to believe that they are sharing their society with morally bankrupt idiots.

Unfortunately, I think they're real people who are on the brink of fucking themselves and the rest of us over because they have allowed the far right to manipulate them.

It would be astounding if there weren’t bots. It’s a massive site, politicians do Q&A, advertising and so on. Millions of voting age women, in a key demographic? Why wouldn’t the bot farms and various interests be here?

Ironically, I think you may have misunderstood the OP @MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack

Correct.

I was not asking for a debate on the rights and wrongs of different political affiliations.

Plenty of other threads have that covered!

Just looking for reassurance from MN that we are indeed real people.

Reassurance for those who suspect it of course (I'm not one of them, in case it isn't obvious).

@MrsTerryPratchett hopefully if any bots ARE identified they are weeded out quickly and effectively.

Wow, how dare anyone be of a different political persuasion! Labelling those that don’t share your political views as “stupid”, “full of hate” and “morally bankrupt”, really?! Grow up!

In what way?

I understood that the OP was seeking confirmation from MNHQ that the Reform-supporting posters were not bots.

I was merely commenting on my perception that they are not bots.

The fact that the OP's reasons for believing that there aren't loads of bots don't align with my reasons for believing the same does not indicate any misunderstanding. Merely a difference in perspective.

I find it interesting.

It becomes obvious that many people live in a bubble, surrounded by people who think like them, (or people who are unwilling to say what they really think because they don't want to be attacked and driven out of their jobs.)

If you only ever hear from people who think DEI is marvellous, then realising how the majority of the country feels will come as a shock.

By dismissing the majority opinion as "far right extremism" or "reform bots" they can continue to ignore the underlying issues, without activating the uncomfortable feelings of cognitive dissonance and denial that otherwise arise when inconvenient facts are laid bare.

I haven't said that anyone who is of a different political persuasion or who doesn't share my views is stupid, full of hate or morally bankrupt. Of course I don't think that.

Those descriptions only apply to the people who support repugnant far right parties like Reform or Restore.

I'm sure MN tech are across any bot activity. Wild that people think opposing opinions must be due to nefarious practices though....I'm not a reform lover btw 😏

Question - if you consider Reform as far right, do we also consider the Greens as far left??

And do we think if there are Reform bots then there must also be Green bots?

Or do Green bots definitely not exist?

🤔

And do we think if there are Reform bots then there must also be Green bots?

Or do Green bots definitely not exist?

🤔

How do you expect MN to confirm that posters are humans rather than machines? You don't have to register your fingerprint or your heartbeat to post.

They could post an analytics map of IP address locations where posts were coming from. Although that doesn't prove anything either. I'm often to be found posting from Myanmar.

yes there are loads of reform bots imo. Were you here for the Brexit vote? Masses of bad faith posters completely vanished after the vote. Reform have millions of pounds to fund this sort of disinformation.

You sound paranoid @VanityUnit66

People are allowed to drop out of a conversation if it no longer interests them.

I've been known to leave MN for months on end before.

Sometimes we need it more than others.

But often they Are DUE to nefarious practices. We know that at least don't we? I'm not suggesting Reform are paying bot farms. But the Russians absolutely are. And they want us cut off from Europe, and alone, and right wing.

I can't understand why a known and documented things is being denied.

Go and read up on the Cambridge Analytica scandal and come back and tell me I’m paranoid 🤔

I think there are bots on MN. They exist on all forms of social media, so it is inevitable. The issue is real and shouldn't be minimised.

www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/22/experts-warn-of-threat-to-democracy-by-ai-bot-swarms-infesting-social-media

Well if bots are inevitable then why are there apparently only right wing bots?

Are all bots not equal?

It won't necessarily be Reform poatjng via bots. I doubt they would bother. You mention the bots that were disruptive during the Brexshit debacle, and many were traced to Russia and China.

Personally, while I think Reform have many issues, there is a part of me that is enjoying the disruptive nature of it all. I do hope that people have learned from Brexshit and are now actually researching what their vote goes towards. I fear not, but that's democracy for you.

Hello @DangerQuakeRhinoSnake thanks for posting. We've not seen evidence of this and you're most welcome to report such posts to us. Accusing someone of being a bot for having a different view is akin to troll hunting, which breaks our guidelines.

I didn'y say there are only right wing bots? In fact, I have been accused of being a left wing bot!

I wrote a very long complaint to Mumsnet on the 19th may covering this very subject, and was told it would be flagged higher.

I was accused of being a Reform bot, a troll and a shill and whilst those posts were removed in the end it impacted the thread significantly. I literally said in my post that it was a tactic being employed by the left-leaning posters to shut down debate and that the ability to discuss news stories or politics on general was being undermined on the forum.

Yes you have seen evidence of this as I literally wrote a very long email about it and sent it to [email protected] on the 19th May.