Karma farming
Also called: karma farm, karma farmer, karma whoring, farming karma
Definition
Karma farming is posting content mainly to collect karma rather than to take part: reposting old popular posts, low-effort bait, or automated posting. Reddit's spam policy names reposting old content to gain karma quickly as a violation.
Karma opens doors on Reddit. Many subreddits set minimum karma to post, and Reddit's own spam filter goes easier on accounts with some. That makes karma worth faking, which is why "karma farming" exists as a term and why Reddit polices it.
How it works
Karma farming takes a few recognizable forms:
- Reposting. Finding posts that did well months or years ago and posting them again as new, often in large image subreddits.
- Bait. Low-effort posts designed to collect upvotes ("upvote if you agree"), or comments that repeat the most popular sentiment in a thread.
- Automation. Accounts run by scripts or repost bots that post and comment at volume.
- Karma-for-karma exchanges. Groups trading upvotes to raise each other's counts.
What Reddit's rules say
Reddit's spam policy lists "repeatedly posting or sharing old content for the purpose of rapidly gaining karma" as a violation. The Disrupting Communities policy separately bans "automated means to manipulate karma," and trading upvotes falls under vote manipulation.
Reddiquette has said it for years in a gentler tone: don't accuse others of "whoring karma" without proof, and don't ask for votes. Reddit's help page on karma is more direct: "Don't set out to accumulate karma; just set out to be a good contributor."
Why accounts that farm karma are a problem
The point of a farmed account is usually what comes after. An account with high karma and some history can get past the karma requirements and age checks that stop new spam accounts, which makes it useful for spam or undisclosed promotion, and tradeable. Reddit's User Agreement says you will not license, sell or transfer your account without Reddit's prior written approval.
That is why Reddit's systems look past the number. The Contributor Quality Score weighs account history and other signals, not just karma, and Reddit's AutoModerator documentation presents it as a more holistic replacement for karma or account-age checks.
Why it matters for marketers
The pitch "build karma fast, then promote" is the karma farming playbook with a brand on top. It tends to fail twice: the farming itself risks the account being flagged for spam (what people call a shadowban), and the karma it produces is from communities that have nothing to do with your buyers.
Karma that helps a marketer is earned where the buyers are: answering questions in your niche subreddits. It builds slowly, it shows up in the right places in your history, and nobody can call it farming. Our guide on how to get karma on Reddit covers the legitimate routes.
Frequently asked questions
Is karma farming against Reddit's rules?
Yes, in its common forms. Reddit's spam policy prohibits reposting old content to gain karma rapidly, and its community disruption policy bans automated karma manipulation.
Why do people farm karma on Reddit?
Mostly to get past subreddit karma and account age requirements, so the account can post where new accounts are filtered. That is also what makes farmed accounts useful for spam and undisclosed promotion.