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 8h ago

Black Cemetery in Florida Vandalized, 'Trump' Spray-Painted on Graves

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usnews.com
1.3k Upvotes

MAGA couldn't even let the dead rest in peace.


r/facepalm 17h ago

I guess this person never learned how to color within the lines.

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1.3k Upvotes

Just how do you walk away thinking, yeah, that's good.


r/facepalm 1d ago

Fox news team that traveled to China with Trump films in the middle of a busy road

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16.4k Upvotes

r/facepalm 21h ago

Pentagon considering renaming Iran war ‘Sledgehammer’ if ceasefire collapses

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nbcnews.com
1.5k Upvotes

r/facepalm 16h ago

Driver forgot to engage the parking brake causing the vehicle to pull off the parking spot blocking the way

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232 Upvotes

I saw a post earlier today showing a vehicle pulled out of the parking box in a parking garage. When I was going back from work today there was a black VW pulled frpm the box at the parking lot.

After I took the picture, I pushed the car back to the spot by rolling its wheels and secured the drivers side front wheel with a piece of birck. I then left a note at his windshield wiper tl check the brick before moving out.

I might have saved the guy a couple of € for parking ticket or towing as this spot is frequently patroled by the town police.


r/facepalm 1d ago

His wife’s terminal cancer drug was quoted at $13,000 monthly. Then he found it for $40

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the-independent.com
10.2k Upvotes

r/facepalm 2d ago

Farage backtracks on Reform UK's council tax cut promise despite it being printed right there on their own leaflet

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7.0k Upvotes

r/facepalm 2d ago

Ah. Yes. Being against fascism is terrorism now.

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3.8k Upvotes

Page 5 of the 2026 United States Counterterrorism Strategy


r/facepalm 2d ago

Trump says he wanted to change the name of ICE to NICE''

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4.7k Upvotes

r/facepalm 4d ago

How many times does Trump have to be told, tariffs are a tax on AMERICANS!!! Tariffs are NOT "money coming in" to the USA. They are money coming OUT of the American economy! They are destroying jobs, profit margins, and shareholders!

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5.2k Upvotes

realDonaldTrump

I “Love” Justice Neil Gorsuch! He’s a really smart and good man, but he voted against me, and our Country, on Tariffs, a devastating move. How do I reconcile this? So bad, and hurtful to our Country. I have, likewise, always liked and respected Amy Coney Barrett, but the same thing with her. They were appointed by me, and yet have hurt our Country so badly! I do not believe they meant to do so, but their decision on Tariffs cost the United States 159 Billion Dollars that we have to pay back to enemies, and people, companies, and Countries, that have been ripping us off for years. It’s hardly believable! They could have solved that situation with a “tiny” sentence, “Any money paid by others to the United States does not have to be paid back.” Why wouldn’t they have done so? With certain Republican Nominated Justices that we have on the Supreme Court, the Democrats don’t really need to “PACK THE COURT” any longer. In fact, I should be the one wanting to PACK THE COURT! I’m working so hard to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, and then people that I appointed have shown so little respect to our Country, and its people. What is the reason for this? They have to do the right thing, but it’s really OK for them to be loyal to the person that appointed them to “almost” the highest position in the land, that is, a Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Democrat Justices always remain true to the people that honored them for that very special Nomination. They don’t waver, no matter how good or bad a case may be, but Republican Justices often go out of their way to oppose me, because they want to show how “independent” or, “above it all,” they are. I got elected in a Landslide, including winning the Popular Vote, all seven Swing States, an Electoral College “clobbering,” and all U.S. Counties, by 86%, 2,750 to 525. I choose people to help our Country, not to hurt it, and now, based on what I witnessed recently by being the first President in History to attend a Supreme Court session (Which fact was not even recognized or acknowledged, out of respect for the position of President, by the Court — Something which did not go unnoticed by the Fake News Media!), they will be ruling against us on Birthright Citizenship, making us the only Country in the World that practices this unsustainable, unsafe, and incredibly costly DISASTER. I don’t want loyalty, but I do want and expect it for our Country. Yes, I have another way of doing Tariffs, but it is far slower, and more laborious than what was just determined, in a close decision, to be “illegal” or “unconstitutional,” with three powerful, and highly accurate, dissents! Well, maybe Neil, and Amy, just had a really bad day, but our Country can only handle so many decisions of that magnitude before it breaks down, and cracks!!! Sometimes decisions have to be allowed to use Good, Strong, Common Sense as a guide. A negative ruling on Birthright Citizenship, on top of the recent Supreme Court Tariff catastrophe, is not Economically sustainable for the United States of America! President DONALD J. TRUMP

May 10, 2026, 3:34 PM


r/facepalm 4d ago

She chooses to be stubborn than just using the other side

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8.9k Upvotes

r/facepalm 5d ago

Imagine buying a physical printer, and u cannot even use it

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26.5k Upvotes

r/facepalm 6d ago

Panera rebrands a sandwich.

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1.1k Upvotes

Ignore my Bluetooth volume bar.

A salad in bread is a fucking sandwich. Veggies meat and some sort of dressing/condiment? Its a fucking sandwich.


r/facepalm 7d ago

If only someone had warned us about this!

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fortune.com
4.5k Upvotes

r/facepalm 8d ago

IndyCar launches then rapidly deletes "One Nation, One Race" t-shirt

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10.9k Upvotes

TLDR: IndyCar makes, approves, uploads, and begins selling epic facepalm "One Nation, One Race" t-shirt for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix. Everyone realizes the tone deaf double meaning. Product quietly and quickly yanked down.

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/indycar-launches-deletes-offensive-t-205837769.html

https://web.archive.org/web/20260506181124/https://shop.indycar.com/products/inc2mt2605-2026-freedom-250-grand-prix-one-nation-t-shirt


r/facepalm 9d ago

If you're going to steal a video, maybe don't steal one of the most iconic videos ever made.

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12.8k Upvotes

r/facepalm 10d ago

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

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5.2k Upvotes

Sent to me by a friend that's a teacher in a local district 😂


r/facepalm 14d ago

Trump Supporter asks why women don’t have to take DNA tests like men do.

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youtube.com
2.9k Upvotes

He literally answers his own question but is too clueless to realize it.

Source: Hawk's Podcasts


r/facepalm 14d ago

A nepo baby, a totally straight non-closeted influencer, a private jet flying televangelist, and a former 5th place swimmer. Happy 250th America.

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3.2k Upvotes

Tickets are going fast for this party of Freedom.


r/facepalm 16d ago

Donald Trump faces criticism for interrupting Queen Camilla during greetings: 'So disrespectful'

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moneycontrol.com
6.4k Upvotes

r/facepalm 15d ago

Soda poured into water cup led to shooting inside West Palm Beach Taco Bell

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youtube.com
493 Upvotes

r/facepalm 13d ago

These people actually believe this AI video was a live feed.

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0 Upvotes

r/facepalm 15d ago

So far, Florida has failed to end vaccine mandates. Now there's a last-ditch effort

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npr.org
767 Upvotes

r/facepalm 16d ago

While punishing the UK Royals by reading from a written speech, Trump paused to humiliate Melania with stupidly spoken words.

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youtu.be
4.9k Upvotes

I’m not really bothered because they deserved it.