Updated Jul 1, 2026
A botted launch is a product launch whose headline numbers were inflated by automated or inauthentic accounts instead of a real audience. It is the extreme case on a three-part spectrum: earned reach, paid or coordinated reach, and inflated reach. On forkoff.xyz, RADAR classifies launches along that spectrum and always describes the pattern it measures, never labeling a founder dishonest.
Per our own views-to-likes benchmark of 5,375 creators, an engagement ratio outside the observed band is the cheapest tell that a launch was amplified. FORKOFF Views-to-Likes Benchmark 2026
Botted borrows the bot in automated account and applies it to a whole launch. Strictly, it points at the inflation method, software driving views a person never watched. Loosely, buyers use it for any launch whose reach looks manufactured. The word carries a judgment, which is exactly why RADAR does not throw it at a named person. RADAR states the classification it can defend from public numbers, marks how sure it is, and treats every product and founder in its set as genuine. The label describes a pattern in the data, not a verdict on anyone's character, and a launch RADAR cannot fully reconstruct stays a cautious, low-confidence estimate.
It is tempting to picture one dial from organic to botted, but there are really two questions. First, was the reach helped along, and second, were real humans still involved. An amplified launch answers yes to both: someone paid or coordinated to widen it, yet audiences genuinely watched. A botted launch answers no to the second, because the accounts inflating it are automated or inauthentic. That second question is the line that matters to a buyer, since amplified reach can still convert while botted reach cannot. Spotting which side a launch falls on is what the companion detection guide walks through.
The reach spectrum, from earned to botted
| Reach type | How the reach was built | Real humans behind it | Converts for a buyer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earned | A real audience passed it around, spread gradually | Yes, fully | Yes |
| Paid or coordinated | Bought or organized to travel further than it would alone | Yes, still watching and sharing | Yes |
| Inflated or botted | Scripts, purchased accounts, or view-farms manufacture the number | Almost none | No |
RADAR sorts each launch along this spectrum from public data and reports the classification with a confidence level, holding back any firm call when the record is thin. It describes the pattern it measures, never labeling a founder dishonest.
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