'This is some next-level local marketing': Customer uncovers local San Diego coffee shop bot farm to boost their Instagram account

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Sep 15, 2025 9:00 PM EDT

It seems like we live in a society where entrepreneurship is attractive to more people than ever, yet it is just as tough (if not more so) to make it big with a small business. The existence of social media is a big part of the reason for this, as it offers both a golden opportunity for self-promotion and makes the idea of marketing all the more intimidating, as it makes it clear that most businesses are tiny fish in a very big sea. Going viral can give five seconds of fame, but it does not necessarily sustain profits. A growth that can be worked with takes time.

That being said, in this wonderful online world where the d*ad internet theory appears to be gathering more and more evidence with each passing day, there are ways to cheat this. The services of bots can come in very handy in a situation like this.

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    Cheezburger Image 10553957376
    via Oleg Ivanov (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • This was what one loyal coffee shop customer realized when he was given a behind-the-scenes peek at how the local business worked, and realized that the business's social media accounts were being bolstered by bots in a back room with numerous phones being used for this sole purpose. 

    It's fair to say that people were intrigued by the effort that was being put in here, although many claimed that they would not want to associate with a business that did such tricks. It could be argued that it is the price of trying to survive in a competitive social media landscape, but it is definitely playing dirty. 

  • 02
    Kevin → Plant Daddy... @KevinEspiritu My favorite local coffee shop has a bot farm setup in their backroom to boost IG engagement, this is some next-level local marketing
    via KevinEspiritu
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    via KevinEspiritu
  • 04
    Martin Bradstreet @ALEXEIMARTOV Replying to @KevinEspiritu your local coffee shop running a botfarm with over 100 phones really makes you realize how compromised the internet is as a whole.
    via ALEXEIMARTOV
  • 05
    Michael Fiore - Garde... @usafiore Replying to @KevinEspiritu I can't fathom how this pencils for a small coffee shop. Looks expensive to set up and maintain. Gotta sell a LOT more cups of coffee for it to be worth it. Not to mention it seems risky to me where your account could get punished for fake engagement later on.
    via usafiore
  • 06
    AJ @0x1F9ED Replying to @KevinEspiritu If a coffee shop is running this then I'd rather not go to this coffee shop.
    via 0x1F9ED
  • 07
    Cam @fleshycam Replying to @KevinEspiritu If you were anyone else I'd be skeptical this is real lol. Mad. Crazy to think that if you wanna open a coffee shop in this day and age you may need some crazy other skills to compete
    via fleshycam
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    SeizureSalad @SeizureSalad314 Replying to @KevinEspiritu Yo fam your local coffee shop has a scam side hustle
    via SeizureSalad314
  • 09
    shades o EVAN KALOUDIS @evankaloudis Replying to @KevinEspiritu idk, maybe it's just me but I would prefer my coffee shop be focused on the coffee
    via evankaloudis
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    TheseTrees @these_trees Replying to @KevinEspiritu I would not support a business that does this.
    via these_trees
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    Zen Pistolero @zenpistolero Replying to @KevinEspiritu Wasn't there a guy who walked down his residential street with a wagon full of phones to make the map apps think it was congested and stop giving his street as a rapid detour? Modern problems!
    via zenpistolero
  • 12
    Mat Silva @MatSilva Replying to @KevinEspiritu Clearly, the coffee shop is the front
    via MatSilva
  • 13
    Մ WINOLEAPI @CoCreateGuid Replying to @KevinEspiritu Astroturf gardening.
    via CoCreateGuid
  • 14
    Daniel @danielsveryown People use bot farms to convince you to go to the coffee shop next door. Imagine what nation states and large organizations use bot farms for. Next time you get angry it is probably cause some bureaucrat in a soulless building needs to hit his monthly citizen ragebaited quotas.
    via danielsveryown
  • 15
    csz@cszabla always imagined a bot farm as a piece of software working on a server, not literally like 100 iphones arranged in rows like crops
    via cszabla
  • 16
    Jon @Jonny Micro When you argue with someone on the Internet you're actually probably debating one of these
    via JonnyMicro
  • 17
    Suzanna the great @suzannaprophecy Everything you see online is engineered just so you know
    via suzannaprophecy
  • 18
    Tariq Khan @TariqMK_ How abhorrent is this that manipulating and tricking systems to ultimately fool people is an acceptable form of marketing?
    via TariqMK_
  • 19
    Pehalwaaan @Pehalwaaan Don't be sheep. Think about what you hear. If an opinion has likes, engagement or traction otherwise, it's not necessarily correct. It might just be literally pushed by a farm.
    via Pehalwaaan
  • 20
    Andrew Staroska @astaroska Social Media might be a mistake. At least in the current form.
    via astaroska
  • 21
    AJ @0x1F9ED Like I'm super curious how to engineer this but at the same time I'm not interested in being a client of a business that uses this. Ya feel me?
    via 0x1F9ED
  • 22
    Monaco Truther @MonacoTruther I have a similar setup liking all my mutuals posts. If you see your posts aren't getting my likes please notify me immediately.
    via MonacoTruther
  • 23
    Daniel Keller @dnlklr Underexplored sculptural medium just saying
    via dnlklr

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