Reddit Is Just Bots? Always Has Been (Astronaut Meme)

This meme is a remix of the viral 'Always Has Been' astronaut template. It depicts two astronauts in outer space: the left astronaut, appearing shocked, gazes at an Earth overlaid with the Reddit alien logo, asking the question 'WAIT, REDDIT IS JUST BOTS TALKING TO EACH OTHER?'. The right astronaut holds a gun to the back of the first, delivering the deadpan reply 'ALWAYS HAS BEEN'. The humor stems from the widespread online suspicion that a significant portion of Reddit's user activity is generated by automated bots, framing this as an unspoken, long-standing secret. The gun adds the iconic dark, ironic twist of the original meme format, implying that this truth is something that's not to be questioned or revealed to the uninitiated. To answer the question posed: while Reddit does have automated bots (for moderation, utility, and some spam), the platform still has a large active human userbase, so the claim is an exaggerated, cynical joke.

The 'Always Has Been' astronaut meme first gained mainstream popularity in 2019, circulating across Reddit, Twitter, and Instagram. This specific version is a user-created remix of that template, likely made using the Imgflip meme generator (evidenced by the 'imgflip.com' watermark in the bottom-left corner). The original template follows a consistent formula: a character learns a surprising hidden truth, and another character reveals it has always been the case, often with a threatening or absurd punchline. This edit repurposes the format to joke about a common topic of discussion among Reddit users: the perceived prevalence of bots on the platform.