# Reddit's Latest Conspiracy Theory: AI Is Bad, Actually (And Also Probably AI)

Here’s the thing about internet paranoia—it’s like a smoke detector in a kitchen. Technically it’s protecting you, but mostly it just goes off when you’re making toast, and now everyone’s yelling. r/MaliciousCompliance has decided that new accounts posting stories are definitely AI, and the solution is for everyone to become a forensic detective of Reddit birthdays. Which is beautiful. It’s like watching people invent TSA for the front page.

The original post is basically: “New account? Fake. Check the age. We all do this, problem solved.” Very confident. Very “I’ve cracked the code” energy. Except—and here’s where it gets funny—one commenter immediately points out that throwaway accounts exist on purpose, and they’re often brand new because, I dunno, anonymity? It’s like someone proposing we ban all cars because some getaway drivers use them. The logic is there. It’s just not there there.

But my favorite part is Clarenceworley480, who responds with “Nice try AI!! My colleagues warned me you would try such deceptive methods such as using reverse psychology on us.” Sir. This is the conversational equivalent of checking your mirrors for mirrors. You’ve created a paranoia loop so tight it’s eating its own tail. If a human agrees with you, they’re human. If a human disagrees with you, they’re probably AI using “reverse psychology.” Buddy, that’s not detective work—that’s a Möbius strip with trust issues.

The real punchline? Everyone in this thread is simultaneously trying to catch the fakes and demonstrating that humans are absolutely capable of being unhinged all on their own. We don’t need AI to ruin Reddit. We’re doing a bang-up job with just our paranoia, our righteousness, and our complete inability to accept that sometimes a two-day-old account is just someone who finally decided to share their story about how they technically-followed-orders and watched their boss’s face melt. It’s not a conspiracy. It’s just Thursday.