D-backs-Phillies last Thursday was the "fourth game that MLB has broadcast nationally and for free on Facebook this season," but midway through the game, in the chat that appears next to the video feed, comments "began appearing from not-too-subtly disguised spam accounts for adult webcam services," according to Zach Buchanan of THE ATHLETIC. Several of the accounts "posted multiple times at different points in the game, and some viewers began jokingly interacting with them." Many of the spam accounts "punctuated their comments with suggestive emojis." An MLB spokesperson said, “This is a concern and we are working with Facebook to ensure the proper safeguards are in place." A Facebook spokesperson "relayed similar concern when reached by email." The spokesperson said, “There is no place for activity such as this during these MLB broadcasts. These comments were posted by inauthentic accounts, which are not allowed on our platform. We have deleted these accounts and are working to prevent this type of abuse from occurring again." Thursday's broadcast was the "first to have any issue with comments from fraudulent accounts." That such a problem would arise is "hardly surprising; fending off the virtual advances of porn bots has pretty much become the cost of being connected to the internet." But it does "present a unique challenge for MLB’s efforts to offer broadcasts separate from traditional media" (THEATHLETIC.com, 4/28).
