10-Year-Old's Reality-Show Victory Revoked After Automated Bot Voting (go.com) 56
An anonymous reader quotes ABC News:
The final result of Russia's version of the popular TV singing talent show, "The Voice Kids," has been cancelled after it was found that thousands of automated calls and text messages were used to rig voting in favor of its 10-year-old winner. Moscow-based cybersecurity firm Group-IB was brought in to examine the results after complaints were raised over the victory of Mikella Abramova, the daughter of well-known Russian popstar Alsou and millionaire Yan Abramov...
On Thursday, Group-IB's researchers said that, after analyzing the voting data, there had been "massive automated sending of SMS messages in favour of one participant." Sequential phone numbers were used to make more than 30,000 automated calls into the show's voting line for the contestant, IB Group wrote in a statement on its website. Another 300 telephone numbers were used to send 8,000 text messages, the statement said, noting that the automated calls and messages were made by so-called 'bots' -- software programs that can be directed to repeat tasks over and over.
The findings prompted Channel 1 to announce that it was annulling the results, saying the investigation had confirmed there was "an outside influence" that had affected the outcome. In a statement on its website, the channel said it would now organize a new "special show" in which all the contestants would compete again on May 24.
One of show's hosts warned their audience not to take the reality competition too seriously. "Let's not forget that it is only a jolly game of 'who sings best.'"
On Thursday, Group-IB's researchers said that, after analyzing the voting data, there had been "massive automated sending of SMS messages in favour of one participant." Sequential phone numbers were used to make more than 30,000 automated calls into the show's voting line for the contestant, IB Group wrote in a statement on its website. Another 300 telephone numbers were used to send 8,000 text messages, the statement said, noting that the automated calls and messages were made by so-called 'bots' -- software programs that can be directed to repeat tasks over and over.
The findings prompted Channel 1 to announce that it was annulling the results, saying the investigation had confirmed there was "an outside influence" that had affected the outcome. In a statement on its website, the channel said it would now organize a new "special show" in which all the contestants would compete again on May 24.
One of show's hosts warned their audience not to take the reality competition too seriously. "Let's not forget that it is only a jolly game of 'who sings best.'"
GD Russians (Score:1)
Russians don't take a dump without a plan, son.
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A Russian owns the parent company of Slashdot anyway
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Canâ(TM)t have a Peasant Win (Score:3)
I find it odd that this happened in favor of the millionaire well connected contestant. Perhaps they placed all the calls to get the little boy out of the way.
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Let me guess... Stories with more than one villain are too complicated?
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Isn't it usually the other way around? The peasant wins to demonstrate that anyone can make it, that it's a real meritocracy, and so you should keep toiling away safe in the knowledge that your hard work will be recognized and rewarded?
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I'd more likely suspect bet rigging
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Ran outta mod points...
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No, in Soviet Russian bot votes for you.
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Oh c'mon, how could you miss that opportunity:
In the free world, you vote for soulless automaton.
In Soviet Russia, soulless automaton votes for YOU.
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What a relief (Score:4, Interesting)
it is only a jolly game of 'who sings best. (Score:2)
If so, it is only a ballot stuffing of who hacks best?
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Hey! Don't take away my only fun pastime, determining who gets to rule the free world!
Ballot stuffing (Score:5, Interesting)
In the 7th grade, the director of the boys' choir encouraged us to enter our a cappella barbershop singing into the school talent contest.
We thought we were pretty good with our "wall of sound" harmonizing, but a young woman classmate "brought the house down" with her rendition of a song from a current Broadway Musical, I think it was Funny Girl. She wasn't singing, it was pretty obvious that she was just miming and posing to the orchestra and singer in a recording of Funny Girl, and we thought that with her talent-free lameness she was poised to walk away with "our" well-earned first place. This was decades before lip-synching and Putting on the Hits was a "thing."
Being 7th graders, we felt entitled to use our numbers to stuff the ballot box by voting for ourselves, at least once per choir member. The teacher who was our choir director caught wind of this (we lost anyway), and we got a stern lecture in the next class about ethical behavior, during which we collectively held our heads in shame.
Did I learn anything from the experience? Sure -- talent contests are a crock and we should have worked harder at tipping the vote in our direction. At least this young woman would have learned a life lesson of the distinction between putting the effort into a musical performance and just faking one and being cute.
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Jesus fuck. Was there any point to this shit story? No one gives a fuck!
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As a college graduate with a corporate job a friend of mine and myself did a karaoke contest at work. Stodgy life insurance company.
Except we lip synced it, adding a skip to the track at which point we ran off the stage area. Oh, it was a Milli Vanilli song, I don't recall which (perfection in concept).
We got second place lip syncing at a karaoke contest (we had good costumes and had practiced our dances).
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Did I learn anything from the experience? Sure -- talent contests are a crock and we should have worked harder at tipping the vote in our direction. At least this young woman would have learned a life lesson of the distinction between putting the effort into a musical performance and just faking one and being cute.
Uh, life lesson? Obviously you've never heard of the Kardashians, who turned faking it and being cute into a fucking billion-dollar empire. The world rewards bullshit artists now.
Hell, the last time anyone was actually punished for faking music was Milli Vanilli, and that was thirty years ago.
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I guess there's a reason why they don't do that with televote and SMS. On the other hand... max Headroom indeed was only twenty minutes into the future.
Sanjaya! (Score:3)
Using automated systems? That's weak.
You need to get a national shock jock [mtv.com] to support your kid!
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I still think it's no coincidence that Sanjaya rhymes with "kill it with fire".
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in soviet russia we fix you! (Score:2)
in soviet russia we fix you!
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And you better hope we won't do it in the veterinary sense.
Ha-ha! (Score:1)
Take that, Russia!
Last quote was taken somewhat out of context (Score:4, Informative)
After the announcement, one of the show's hosts Dmitry Nagiev said that it was now important to protect the children taking part.
"Let's not forget that it is only a jolly game of 'who sings best,'" he told the state-funded Russian broadcaster RT. "And as soon as adults interfere with their screwed-up attempts to tinker with it, the game takes on not very pretty forms."
Laughable (Score:2)
_All_ the calls for such TV-shows are dominated by bots.
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Sure, but these were non-licensed, non-official bots. You can't have that, imagine if the wrong person wins and it's someone we can't market and sell or, worse, someone who actually does have talent and survives longer than to the next season. That could impact our sales!
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Yes. I have. Unfortunately I also heard her.
Too bad, she was actually good (Score:2)
Really? (Score:2)
"Let's not forget that it is only a jolly game of 'who sings best.'"
And Eurovision fans promptly declared war.