# "Wow!! \_\_\_\_'s Sex Tape Here" links in comments?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-____s-sex-tape-here-links-in-comments/480742>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 11, 2009, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-____s-sex-tape-here-links-in-comments/480742 "2009-01-11T01:14:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-____s-sex-tape-here-links-in-comments/480742/1 "2009-01-11T01:14:33Z")

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On pretty much every popular blog or news story that allows comments, there are links to soandso’s sex tapes. Why? Are the people who are adding the links somehow being paid to do it?

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-____s-sex-tape-here-links-in-comments/480742/2 "2009-01-11T01:17:05Z")

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Sounds like link spamming to generate traffic. Traffic to websites can be profitable (ads, affiliate sales schemes, direct product sales…)

The people adding the links are quite possibly the proprietors of the linked site, or maybe aren’t people at all - it could be a bot.

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**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-____s-sex-tape-here-links-in-comments/480742/3 "2009-01-11T01:17:21Z")

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Those are spam, probably pointing to porn sites. I imagine you can figure out the profit motive there.

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**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2009, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-____s-sex-tape-here-links-in-comments/480742/4 "2009-01-11T01:17:29Z")

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> [@elfkin477](#):
>
> On pretty much every popular blog or news story that allows comments, there are links to soandso’s sex tapes. Why? Are the people who are adding the links somehow being paid to do it?

Generally, they’re not people, but automated scripts (bots), whose creators either try to simply get a lot of clicks to their pages, or want to get you to download something harmful to your PC, and most of the time both and a couple of other shady things.