The web is a really totally different place than it was 20 years in the past, in no small half as a result of how a lot it’s now occupied by refined bots and AI brokers programmed to hold out particular—and infrequently egocentric—duties, quite than resharing cat photos or low-budget Flash animations like within the web’s olden days. Automated techniques accounted for 51% of all internet site visitors in 2024, in accordance with a report by cybersecurity agency Imperva, whereas the quantity of AI-written articles additionally surpassed human-made work for the primary time in late 2024, in accordance with analysis analytics agency Graphite.
One sufferer of the rise of bots is Digg’s current try at a comeback. Digg, which launched in 2004, allowed customers to “digg” content material from throughout the web, with essentially the most dugg content material surfacing on the entrance web page. It was as soon as one of many internet’s most seen web sites. The corporate was bought in 2012 earlier than pivoting to supply a completely curated homepage of content material. It was then bought by its authentic proprietor Kevin Rose in 2025, alongside Reddit CEO Alexis Ohanian, and relaunched in beta firstly of 2026.
In a notice on the now-deactivated web site, Digg’s CEO stated the issues with bots began inside “hours” of the relaunch.
“We knew bots have been a part of the panorama, however we did not admire the dimensions, sophistication, or pace at which they’d discover us,” stated Digg CEO Justin Mezzell. “We banned tens of 1000’s of accounts. We deployed inner tooling and industry-standard exterior distributors.
“None of it was sufficient.”
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On account of these points, Digg has made the choice to pause its beta and “considerably downsize the Digg workforce.” Mezzell insists that “Digg is not going away” and can as an alternative rebuild “with a small however decided workforce.” Rose will now return to work on Digg full-time as its CEO, and the undertaking will develop into his “main focus.”
Digg’s issues with pretend engagement aren’t completely new. The platform had struggled with organized manipulation since its early days, with startups providing to get content material to the entrance web page for $700 again within the 2000s, or organized teams working to advertise or suppress sure political viewpoints.
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I’ve been a PC gamer because you needed to set up video games from a number of CD-ROMs by hand. As a reporter, I’m passionate concerning the intersection of tech and human lives. I’ve lined all the things from crypto scandals to the artwork world, in addition to conspiracy theories, UK politics, and Russia and international affairs.
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