Viral Reddit “Whistleblower” Post Proven Fake, New Concerns Over AI-Based Fraud

Staff Report: PNN

A Reddit user who claimed to leak internal information from a food delivery app has been identified as fake. The user alleged that the company manipulated drivers and customers through various tactics and legal loopholes.

In the viral post, the user wrote, “You always think algorithms are rigged against you, but the reality is even more disappointing.” The user claimed to write this while drunk using public Wi-Fi at a library and presented a fake Uber Eats employee badge and an 18-page “internal document.” These claims, upon investigation, were found to be entirely AI-generated.

Despite being fake, the post appeared on Reddit’s front page, receiving over 87,000 upvotes. On X (formerly Twitter), it gained over 200,000 likes and millions of views.

Tech journalist Casey Newton contacted the user, who sent a supposed 18-page internal document claiming that AI was used to calculate drivers’ “despair scores” and determine their pay. Investigation revealed it was AI-generated.

Newton noted that in the past, creating such detailed documents required significant effort, making them believable. Now, AI can produce similar content instantly, posing challenges for journalists.

The document was verified using Google’s Gemini AI tool, which found the “SynthID” watermark, confirming it was artificially generated.

Max Spero, founder of Pangram Labs, stated that “AI slop” has dramatically increased on the internet. Not only individuals but many organizations now use AI to create viral posts. Experts say while tools exist to identify text, verifying images and videos remains difficult. Consequently, fake content reaches millions before detection.

This incident is particularly concerning because multiple AI-generated fake stories went viral on Reddit the same weekend, making fact-checking on social media harder than ever.