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Fat Bear Week Hit With a Big Scandal — Fake Votes

The Katmai National Park’s annual tournament features matchups between the largest brown bears bulking up for winter, which voters can watch on ‘bearcams.’

A ‘fat’ contestant 435 

Source: Photo courtesy of E. Johnston/Katmai Conservancy

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One of the internet’s favorite contests has fallen victim to a phenomenon plaguing the tech industry: apparent spam bots.

Organizers of Katmai National Park’s annual Fat Bear Week — a single-elimination tournament for the public to vote on the Alaskan park’s famous mammals — said late on Sunday that its ballot box had been spammed with fake votes.