What is it about this Guardian poll that has vote-riggers flocking to it?
The cockatoo
In 2017, it was the powerful owl.
In 2019, it was the rainbow lorikeet, the cockatoo and the finch.
Now the vote-riggers are at it again, trying to spin the Guardian’s biannual Australian Bird of the Year poll in favour of their chosen feathered friend.
Guardian Australia’s data and interactives editor Nick Evershed told Mumbrella this morning that one unidentified breed started receiving automated votes during the week.
“I suspect it’s just people trying to have a bit of fun,” he said.
“Some technically-minded people just like to see if they can mess with something just because they can.
“Obviously I’m not going to give them any tips … but if you did a lower volume of votes it would be much harder to detect. Although we are doing other things to find out how people are trying to rig the polls.”
The cockatoo had some dodgy supporters in 2019
This is not only happening in Australia either.
The New Zealand Bird of the Year vote experienced a similar thing in the past, despite having a stricter email verification system.
Little spotted kiwi
The little spotted kiwi received 1,500 disqualifying votes in 2020, in a scandal that gained worldwide attention.
Even The New York Times spoke to Edward Abraham, the data scientist who monitored the vote, who said that the cheating ballots had been easy to identify due to the voters getting “a little enthusiastic.”
“When a bird gets a whole lot of votes in the middle of the night and zooms from the middle of the pack to the top of the ranks, that’s a sign that something’s going on,” he said.
New Zealand’s 2018 ballot was corrupted as well by 310 dubious votes cast for the unfortunately-named shag. Those votes were from an IP address traced back to Australia, in what organisers said might “might have been someone’s idea of a joke.”
But as for this year’s Guardian vote, and the fierce competition to be named Australian Bird of the Year – the Guardian assured Mumbrella the poll results will not be compromised.
The 2023 Bird of the Year poll is still live on the Guardian’s website.
If you’re voting for anything else than the kookaburra, you’re wrong.
