Myth: "A few bought upvotes kickstart the algorithm"

Myth: "A few bought upvotes kickstart the algorithm"
This week on Reddit marketing, a paid-boost belief that does the opposite:

— [Rule-change] Reddit's anti-manipulation systems detect vote rings and often zero out or reverse manufactured upvotes, and can ban the host post — documented in admin actions referenced on r/modnews.
— [Case] A growth thread on r/Entrepreneur traced a post that hit early then collapsed to negative once the bought votes were stripped, killing organic momentum.
— [Tactic] Genuine early engagement (a strong first comment, a question that invites replies) moves the ranking signal that actually counts: dwell and reply velocity.

Editor's pick: real first-hour comments beat bought upvotes — the algorithm rewards conversation it can't fake-detect, not a vote count it can.