January 5, 2026
Bot or not? Deliver us the truth
That viral Reddit post about food delivery apps was an AI scam
AI ‘whistleblower’ unmasked — comments split: 'fake' vs 'yep, sounds like food apps'
TLDR: A viral Reddit “whistleblower” post about food delivery apps was likely AI-generated — even the badge image carried an AI watermark — and the poster disappeared while companies denied it. The crowd split between “obvious fake” and “sounds true anyway,” roasting AI detectors and venting long-held distrust of gig platforms.
Reddit exploded over a confessional alleging a big food delivery app delays orders, calls drivers “human assets,” and preys on desperation. Then came the twist: several AI checks said the text was likely machine-written, the “employee badge” image carried a Google AI watermark, and the poster ghosted on Signal. Uber and DoorDash denied everything.
The comments? Pure chaos. One camp admits it “sounded too fishy” — yet also exactly like these apps, given years of worker complaints. Others argue there’s “no definitive proof” it was AI and still want to believe. The main fight was over AI detectors: mixed results, lots of eye-rolls, and one skeptic asking, “Why does anyone…” Relying on bots to catch bots had folks roasting the media and the machines.
Meanwhile, jokesters coined “UberEatsGPT” and “BotDash,” turned “human assets” into a meme, and archive sleuths dropped receipts and the original post. Verdict: nobody trusts anyone — except their gut.
Key Points
- •A viral Reddit confessional alleging misconduct by a major food delivery app is most likely AI-generated, per The Verge’s analysis.
- •Text detectors produced mixed results; several flagged the post as likely AI-generated, while two labeled it human-written, and ChatGPT was inconclusive.
- •Google Gemini’s SynthID watermark analysis indicated a purported Uber Eats employee badge image was AI-generated or edited.
- •Hard Reset reported the source shared an alleged internal Uber document, then deleted their Signal account when questioned.
- •Uber and DoorDash publicly denied the allegations and authenticity of materials, with statements from Uber’s Noah Edwardsen, Uber Eats’ Andrew Macdonald, and DoorDash CEO Tony Xu.