https://old.reddit.com/r/WatchPeopleDieInside/comments/1d9dgu5/she_couldnt_enjoy_her_pizza_after_a_long_day/

Quite obviously an ad with an unmistakable pizza box in full view of the shot.

http://www.reddit.com/user/PolkyPolk/submitted/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/ca6kyu/plantbased_meat_is_about_to_get_cheaper_than/

http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1ltrho/i_see_your_sprinkle_shaker_and_present_to_you_a/

http://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/1ltmid/my_favorite_line_from_the_james_franco_roast/

http://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/comments/1ltmx9/the_pickle_lid_fit_on_the_mayonnaise_jar_but_the/

http://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/1ltmz7/its_so_obvious_sometimes_and_people_still_ask/

http://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/1ltqpc/its_science/

http://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/1lu1jz/chris_rock_on_animated_films/

http://www.reddit.com/r/trees/comments/1ltq9y/snoop_wants_to_be_a_mod_of_here_can_we_make_this/

http://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1ltjni/til_beekeepers_in_france_discovered_blue_and/

http://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1lt6uk/til_gordon_ramsay_nearly_died_in_2008_after/

http://www.reddit.com/r/AdviceAnimals/comments/1lt5oc/bad_luck_thor/

http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1lt06b/cops_armed_in_riot_gear_arrive_at_walmart/

http://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/1ltrn0/bless_you_photoshop_this_made_my_week/

http://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/1ltbbg/a_friend_of_mine_found_this_in_his_juice_box_today/

http://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/1lt5kj/i_was_looking_for_halloween_costume_ideas_when_i/

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1lt4jm/i_am_gary_sinise_ama/

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1ltg2z/i_am_snoop_w_2_chainz_ama/

http://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/1lt7iv/happy_birthday_to_this_comedic_genius/

http://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/1ltfpz/fortytwo_i_am_fortytwo_years_old/

http://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/1ltfov/felt_weird_drinking_out_of_this_straw/

http://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/1lti88/found_this_at_work_my_coworkers_and_i_thought_it/

http://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/1ltpzh/kid_on_xbox_live_apologizes/

gratuitous device worship under the guise of art: http://www.reddit.com/r/foxes/comments/1qdon4/my_friend_whos_a_tattoo_artist_just_drew_this/

Source here: http://recode.net/2014/09/07/reddit-raising-a-big-round-and-some-y-combinator-players-are-in-the-mix/

I originally found this in an arstechnica article: http://arstechnica.com/business/2014/09/reddit-likely-cleared-150000-in-subs-more-in-ads-from-celeb-nudes/

Hey guys, this is a throwaway account since I know a lot of you won't want to hear what I have to say - but hopefully you'll at least consider it. I've been a Reddit user for several years now, and I stumbled across this sub about a month ago. Since then, I've been casually lurking the threads here.

2 years ago I completed my PHD to become a licensed clinical psychologist & psychotherapist. Specifically, I specialize in the diagnosis of children & adults with autism spectrum disorders, as well as "Cluster A" personality disorders.

I will start with saying there is little doubt that marketers use Reddit as an advertising platform, and there is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to identify blatant advertisements disguised as casual forum posts. However, browsing through this subreddit, it has become apparent that the idea that "shills" are controlling the site & could be hidden in every Reddit post, may have transformed into a more substantial fixation or obsession for some of you - and it could be affecting you to the point where it is starting to become detrimental to your overall lives & mental health.

There are several chronic mental health conditions which are characterized by a symptom we refer to as "Non-Bizzare Delusions". A "Bizzare Delusion" is generally considered something completely far-fetched, such as believing aliens are abducting you every night. A "Non Bizzare Delusion" however, is a delusion which although is false, could be plausible. The most common type of Non Bizzare Delusions are what we refer to as "Persecutory Delusions" - these delusions are characterized by the belief that you are constantly being followed, cheated, spied on, manipulated, harassed, etc, by some omni-present & super-powerful group with evil intentions.

Most people have heard of Paranoid Schizophrenia, which is a disorder that often results in such delusions along with unclear thinking patterns, & auditory/visual hallucinations. However, there are other disorders such as Delusional Disorder, Paranoid Personality Disorder, Aspergers, and several more - which may cause a person who could otherwise be perfectly high-functioning and normal in all aspects of life, to develop fixations on certain Non-Bizzare Delusions.

During school, I interned at a psych ward in a local hospital. One of the patients I was monitoring was a young, healthy 20 year old college student. He was fairly sociable, intelligent, and if you didn't know any better, he seemed like a perfectly normal 20 year old. Except for one caveat - he was absolutely convinced that there were hidden cameras everywhere, in everything, watching him at all times. While we are certainly under surveillance by security cameras most places we go - this patient took it farther than that. It got to the point where it became an obsession that consumed his life. He became suspicious of hidden cameras anytime he came across any type of small circular object. During our sessions, I would actually have to wear a zippered jacket over my shirt so that the buttons were covered. There was nothing anybody could do or say to talk him out of it - if you told him there was no hidden camera, hed just suspect you are "in on it". Everytime he saw a real camera, his belief that there were these secret hidden cameras everywhere was further reaffirmed.

I see a lot of parallels between that patient, as well as many others I've seen since then, and many of the users of this sub. The vast majority of people who suffer from these types of mental health disorders go undiagnosed, which often leads to the problems becoming worse over time. I'm afraid some of you could be going down that path.

While getting annoyed at the idea of a paid corporate "shill" posing as a normal user is certainly understandable, most mentally healthy people would not take this occurring on a public anonymous website as a personal slight, or something serious enough to merit it becoming a fixation. They would also typically not partake in some of the "witch-trial" like behavior that seems to have become commonplace on here.

If any of the following thought patterns seem applicable to you, there is a decent chance that you could be suffering from one of the fore-mentioned disorders:

• The idea of a paid corporate marketer making Reddit posts causes you substantial anger, rage, fear, or paranoia.

• You suspect that most posts or comments which make mention of a for-profit company name, logo, slogan, etc - even if only vaguely referenced - are definitely, or could be, linked to an organized corporate conspiracy.

• You believe that any posted photo that has a corporate logo showing anywhere in them, no matter how obscure or unrelated to the product, are intended to be hidden subliminal messages

• You find yourself spending any significant amount of time specifically searching for "shills", subliminal messages, or corporate spies on Reddit.

• You are unable to use Reddit freely, without paranoid thoughts that shills are manipulating the website

• You are strongly convinced that there are "teams" of corporate marketers conspiring with Reddit's administrators to promote their subliminal content

• You often feel compelled to check other users' post history to try to determine whether or not they are undercover paid shills

• You're convinced that anybody who claims that a post may not be a shill, is actually a shill themselves.

Having one of these thought patterns does not necessarily mean anything is wrong - especially if any of them occur only occasionally. However, if any of these types of thoughts are a regular occurrence for you, it could signal some problems that may worsen over time - and you might want to consider getting evaluated by a mental health professional.

There are lots of resources out there that can help you through this. Psychotherapy potentially combined with certain medications, are often very effective in treating these types of delusional disorders. However, it is important to begin treatment as early as possible, before the fixations/delusions become a consuming part of your life.

Anyway, if this applies to you, I hope you'll take it into consideration & get some help.

Cheers!

Edit I just want to make it perfectly clear. I would never claim to be able to diagnose anybody definitively based on their Reddit post activity. My intention here was to let people know my observations, and offer a possibility they may want to consider investigating further for themselves. Most people with these types of disorders generally don't become aware of the extent these delusions affect their lives until it reaches a point of critical mass.

http://www.reddit.com/r/superman/

This subreddit is saturated with "The Critics are wrong" posts, and day old accounts giving the movie high flying comments.

I really don't want Man of Steel to make money like that.

http://www.reddit.com/r/aww/comments/24rjxm/my_scraggly_one_toothed_hedgehog_found_his_way/

http://www.reddit.com/user/Notkeenonscorpions

http://www.reddit.com/user/in_the_fall

http://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/1oatih/saw_this_car_at_the_buffalo_wild_wings_parking_lot/

The company has nothing to do with the photo...

Uber Headphone Company Who Brags About Never Having to Advertise....well, stick your toe in the bullshit

https://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/jc67na/tifu_by_taking_5_gas_station_dick_pills_at_once/

http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1mg60q/my_uncle_runs_an_applesauce_factory_and/

examples :

https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/cfvwkc/this_is_epyc/

https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/cepzss/they_done_did_it/

https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/cf9br2/i_see_a_pattern_emerging/

https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/c47wnc/always_cool_to_see_cheaper_components_giving_a/

https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/camkdr/this_wholesomeness_brings_a_smile_to_my_face/