Screenshots circulating on X and Reddit alleged that Sony and Bungie were paying users through a Discord server to post positive content about Marathon. The images, purportedly from a 'Reddit Task' content farm, were exposed as fakes originating from a general task platform. No evidence links the server to Marathon promotion.
Claims emerged on March 26 that Sony and Bungie operated a Discord server to pay individuals for boosting Marathon posts on Reddit, a practice known as astroturfing. Accounts on X, including Pirat_Nation, amplified a Reddit post featuring altered screenshots. One image showed a message stating, “MARATHON LAUNCH DAY REMINDER: Starting tomorrow, Marathon assigned tasks can now be claimed every 6 hours. Take advantage of this reduced cooldown until Monday 6:00 AM.” The post also appeared in the GamerGate Discussion subreddit. An examination of the screenshots revealed a poorly cropped search bar identifying the server as 'Reddit Circle,' associated with TaskPost, a platform for completing Reddit tasks to earn cryptocurrency. Joining the server confirmed that the original Discord messages contained no references to Marathon. The posts in question had been edited within the same minute of posting, predating any alleged alterations. The fabrication aligns with ongoing online discussions criticizing Marathon's player counts. Demonstrations showed how such screenshots can be easily created using browser tools like Inspect Element on Discord. Neither Sony nor Bungie has commented on the allegations.