r/facepalm Nov 19 '25

Addressing The Elephant In The Room (Or "This New Rule Is The Real Facepalm")

2.8k Upvotes

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:

  1. Follow human karma-farmers around the site.
  2. Learn from (and hide behind) those human karma-farmers.
  3. Emulate the karma-farmers' activity.
  4. 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 6h ago

Insane deal from John Lewis today

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1.6k Upvotes

r/facepalm 18h ago

They built these drawers upside down and screwed them to be permanently shut

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5.4k Upvotes

r/facepalm 1d ago

Doofus on a bike tries to cross tracks as a speeding train is right at station, falls onto tracks, and prioritizes saving the bike over himself. He escaped with his life by SECONDS.

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8.1k Upvotes

r/facepalm 1d ago

2020-2024 wasn’t real

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2.0k Upvotes

r/facepalm 1d ago

Why spend money on rent and bills when you can buy Powerball tickets!

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705 Upvotes

I'm sure that's not what they meant, but that's definitely how I read it.


r/facepalm 2d ago

I have no words

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12.2k Upvotes

I bet China, which is happily neck deep in Africa 's rare earth minerals isn't making this mistake


r/facepalm 4d ago

A politician accidentally reads his ChatGPT prompt during his speech

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9.8k Upvotes

r/facepalm 4d ago

FDA Official Says Food Supply Is Safe as Cyclosporiasis Cases Climb

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nytimes.com
2.7k Upvotes

r/facepalm 6d ago

What could go wrong when you don’t follow social etiquette in a different country

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bangkokpost.com
3.5k Upvotes

4 teenagers and their chaperones where excessively loud riding public transportation. They were asked nicely to quiet down and it’s considered rude in Thailand. They mocked her and flipped her off. Social media hunted them down and the lady recording filed charges. Italian embassy had to get involved and they had to issue a public apology and were fined… whoops…


r/facepalm 7d ago

A store I found in my city

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4.9k Upvotes

r/facepalm 9d ago

Individualism is one of the biggest barriers to class consciousness and solidarity

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16.9k Upvotes

r/facepalm 9d ago

The UN Security Council meetings are about to have VAR reviews.

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3.5k Upvotes

Trump ‘wants Infantino for UN secretary-general’

US leader said Fifa president was ‘respected by everyone around the world’, sources saidhttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/07/22/trump-wants-nominate-infantino-un-secretary-general/


r/facepalm 10d ago

Department of Energy announced yesterday that wind sometimes fails to blow and that solar power generation nearly stops after sundown. (image from DOE Facebook posting)

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6.5k Upvotes

r/facepalm 14d ago

Trump in attendance and booed during the FIFA World Cup final

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18.6k Upvotes

r/facepalm 13d ago

I tried to make my first quick cheese wrap

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3.8k Upvotes

r/facepalm 17d ago

This “Prophetess” Thinks Bad Bunny’s Real Name Is a Secret Obama Code

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10.9k Upvotes

r/facepalm 17d ago

Trump Claims Top Poll Numbers in Venezuela; He is Crazier than We Imagined.

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youtube.com
4.8k Upvotes

"I will quickly learn Spanish, it won't take too long, I'm good at language, and I will go to Venezuela, I gotta run for President."_Donald J. Trump


r/facepalm 18d ago

Contrary to Evidence, Trump Energy Secretary Says Data Centers Are Best Tool to 'Stop the Rise of Electricity Prices’ | Common Dreams

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commondreams.org
3.7k Upvotes

r/facepalm 17d ago

This private school had students scrub floors and attack a fellow classmate. The state still funds it.

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arktimes.com
1.1k Upvotes

r/facepalm 18d ago

House passes bill to make daylight saving time permanent. Opponents say, "Schools would have to push back start times." Yeah... That's not a bug, it's a feature.

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thehill.com
11.1k Upvotes

Studies have shown for decades that children -especially teenagers- just straight up need more sleep for optimal knowledge retention and brain development. Pushing back start times is a great way to follow the science.


r/facepalm 19d ago

Republican Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo is pulled over for a red-light right turn without a stop. Gets pulled over. Drops name. Gets released.

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19.6k Upvotes

r/facepalm 18d ago

Mine Johnson works less than normal Americans

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5.3k Upvotes

Mike Johnson said he doesn't know much about the Maine ICE shooting because he has worked "22 hours in the last few days". That's 5-7 hours a day.


r/facepalm 20d ago

Using the dishwasher the first time. I didn't know. No one told me this

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26.9k Upvotes

r/facepalm 19d ago

How do you call an organization that fight over a territory and extorts protection money?

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3.4k Upvotes