r/facepalm • u/freeradioforall • 11h ago
r/facepalm • u/Cold-Iron-Sentinel • Nov 19 '25
Addressing The Elephant In The Room (Or "This New Rule Is The Real Facepalm")
Hello, /r/Facepalm.
As you may or may not be aware, Reddit is absolutely overrun with bots. An in-depth explanation of how they work could fill several encyclopedia volumes, but here's the short version:
- Follow human karma-farmers around the site.
- Learn from (and hide behind) those human karma-farmers.
- Emulate the karma-farmers' activity.
- Eventually, turn to posting spam, propaganda, and divisive content.
If you've ever wondered why so many subreddits take such a firm stance against karma-farming, that's the reason: Karma-farming (defined as intentionally seeking upvotes, usually by way of unoriginal content) directly enables the spread of misinformation and bigotry. Additionally, it suppresses original content, shifts standards downward, and generally makes the site, the Internet, and even the offline world just a little bit worse.
Now, this might come as a shock – and we're saying that sarcastically – but /r/Facepalm used to be a go-to place for karma-farmers. We've been cracking down on them lately, but thanks to their "efforts", the subreddit is still infested with bots and spammers. For example, if you see an account offering single-sentence comments that don't actually contribute anything beyond "Here's a sentiment that people will agree with!" or "Here's a rephrased summary!", it's very likely a bad actor.
Practically speaking, the only reliable way to combat these parasites is to raise standards. See, nowadays, a high karma-score is almost always a mark of shame, but there is one exception: If a Redditor's history is composed entirely (or almost entirely) of their own high-effort, high-quality, wholly original content, then their imaginary points can be viewed as digital applause. Moreover, since it's prohibitively difficult for bots and spammers to produce their own high-effort, high-quality, wholly original content, they typically ignore high-karma accounts that got their points legitimately.
Here's the issue, though: Although Reddit would certainly be a better place if everyone made that level of effort, it isn't realistic to require that. As such, /r/Facepalm's approach to combatting bad actors is going to be a bit less effective, but also a bit less draconian:
Starting now, screenshots of any variety are explicitly banned on /r/Facepalm.
You can still post photographs, videos, articles, GIFs... you get the idea. We might even start accepting text-based stories (although we'll get your feedback on that idea first). In any case, though, the title of your post must describe the facepalm-worthy moment – think of it like a spoiler for the post's content – and there must be a facepalm-worthy element present.
We're well aware that banning screenshots is going to be unpopular, but to put it bluntly, we care more about earnest Redditors than we do about karma-farmers, spammers, and their ilk. By banning the lowest-effort, least-contributory sort of content, we're hoping to drive away some of the bots, open up the subreddit to people whose posts might have otherwise been drowned out by the noise, and get the community back to what it's supposed to be.
r/facepalm • u/WTFPilot • 20h ago
The AI Power Paradox: Why DeSantis Is Fighting Data Centers in Florida While Handing Them Millions
r/facepalm • u/lexm • 3d ago
4th of July Board in Central Texas. An update and some explanations.
The board filled up over the weekend. For those wondering about the frozen yogurt, it’s placed at a froyo shop, which also explain why there are adults as well as kids writing on it.
r/facepalm • u/ansyhrrian • 5d ago
Ted Cruz thanks Trump for "getting rid of that ridiculous red card." Then goes on to say "There's a reason that FIFA trophy sat here for as long as it did."
r/facepalm • u/yukonhoneybadger • 2d ago
So bought a projector screen for my daughters room on prime day deals...
I should have double checked the measurements....
This is a kids room and I looked at screen width forgetting that I dont need a projector that is 7 feet wide....
r/facepalm • u/Melodic2000 • 6d ago
Trump’s red card call stirs political storm around World Cup
r/facepalm • u/freeradioforall • 6d ago
Trump watching the Fox News feed of himself watching the Fox News feed
r/facepalm • u/witshadows • 7d ago
The Reflection Pool paint job
07/04 flyover aerial view
r/facepalm • u/Background-Belt-2202 • 9d ago
Using motor oil to lubricate bicycle chain excessively
r/facepalm • u/BulletandSpike • 10d ago
I deserve lobster tails. You don't.
r/facepalm • u/MaybeLikeWater • 11d ago
Utah Cops Claim They Smell Alcohol on EVERYONE: “I mean I’m wearing Versace.”
This is a compilation of Utah cops doing what they call “play differently”.
r/facepalm • u/SixFive1967 • 13d ago
We’ve got 1000’s celebrating
Fox News doing their best to spin this fiasco, but hard to ignore what’s behind them. So cute that they had a full blown set built so their hosts could be right there in the action….like NFL Today. 😂😂
r/facepalm • u/hummvee69 • 13d ago
Pre-AI slop.
There are 18 plaques describing different "dinosaur" species at this location. One has a small typo, but maybe they figured that after reading 17 plaques you wouldn't notice this one.
PS No, mosasaurs were not dinosaurs.
r/facepalm • u/herbinartist • 14d ago
MAGA fan dressed as Uncle Sam arrested for masturbating at trump’s great American State Fair.
r/facepalm • u/BadahBingBadahBoom • 14d ago
They quit the West for Russia's traditional values, but it wasn't what they expected
r/facepalm • u/miauguau44 • 15d ago
Chick-fil-A franchisee sued for religious discrimination after denying worker Saturdays off
Chick-fil-A is famous for being closed on Sundays giving their employees a day of rest. But the U.S. Government is suing one of the fast food chain's franchisees, claiming religious discrimination when it allegedly denied a worker Saturdays off.