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red-polygon
RevisionDojo is a YC-backed test prep company ($3.4M raised) that sells International Baccalaureate (IB) test prep. Over the past year, users on r/IBO sub-reddit have documented a pattern of unethical marketing practices:
Astroturfing: Coordinated campaigns where accounts pose as students sharing "cheatsheets" and "predicted exam leaks." Other accounts then upvote, leave supportive comments, and ask follow-up questions—creating the illusion of organic student excitement. Multiple threads have exposed this pattern [1][2][3].
Paid fake posts: High school students report being offered payment to write promotional Reddit posts [4].
Pressuring critics: Users who post negative reviews report being contacted directly by company representatives, told it's "a shame" they're posting publicly [5]. Critical comments receive coordinated mass downvotes [6].
Soliciting copyrighted materials: They use TikTok influencers and fake reddit posts to persuade students to sell them official IB exam papers, violating IB policies [7].
The r/IBO moderators are actively investigating [8].
These practices appear to be working great for them. Recently, they acquired OnePrep (oneprep.xyz), a free SAT prep tool that was already popular on r/sat. Since the acquisition, the same manipulation tactics have been deployed at scale: 150 Trustpilot reviews in a window of a few days [9], and widespread coordinated Reddit manipulation—multiple accounts posting "tips" that recommend Oneprep, coordinated upvoting, and fake enthusiasm in comments. The most prominent example was a 2,000+ upvote post removed by moderators for manipulation, but it's part of a sustained campaign across the subreddit.
Sources:
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] https://www.reddit.com/r/IBO/comments/1my1ajx/comment/na8zvs4/ [7] https://www.reddit.com/r/IBO/comments/1mej900/ [8] https://www.reddit.com/r/IBO/comments/1my1ajx/comment/nagdkl5/ [9] Oneprep is rated "Excellent" with 4.9 / 5 on Trustpilot
Comments URL: RevisionDojo, a YC startup, is running astroturfing campaigns targeting kids | Hacker News
Points: 326
# Comments: 50
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Astroturfing: Coordinated campaigns where accounts pose as students sharing "cheatsheets" and "predicted exam leaks." Other accounts then upvote, leave supportive comments, and ask follow-up questions—creating the illusion of organic student excitement. Multiple threads have exposed this pattern [1][2][3].
Paid fake posts: High school students report being offered payment to write promotional Reddit posts [4].
Pressuring critics: Users who post negative reviews report being contacted directly by company representatives, told it's "a shame" they're posting publicly [5]. Critical comments receive coordinated mass downvotes [6].
Soliciting copyrighted materials: They use TikTok influencers and fake reddit posts to persuade students to sell them official IB exam papers, violating IB policies [7].
The r/IBO moderators are actively investigating [8].
These practices appear to be working great for them. Recently, they acquired OnePrep (oneprep.xyz), a free SAT prep tool that was already popular on r/sat. Since the acquisition, the same manipulation tactics have been deployed at scale: 150 Trustpilot reviews in a window of a few days [9], and widespread coordinated Reddit manipulation—multiple accounts posting "tips" that recommend Oneprep, coordinated upvoting, and fake enthusiasm in comments. The most prominent example was a 2,000+ upvote post removed by moderators for manipulation, but it's part of a sustained campaign across the subreddit.
Sources:
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] https://www.reddit.com/r/IBO/comments/1my1ajx/comment/na8zvs4/ [7] https://www.reddit.com/r/IBO/comments/1mej900/ [8] https://www.reddit.com/r/IBO/comments/1my1ajx/comment/nagdkl5/ [9] Oneprep is rated "Excellent" with 4.9 / 5 on Trustpilot
Comments URL: RevisionDojo, a YC startup, is running astroturfing campaigns targeting kids | Hacker News
Points: 326
# Comments: 50
Continue reading...