Microsoft Copilot Is Now Injecting Ads Into Pull Requests On GitHub (neowin.net)
- Reference: 0181185758
- News link: https://slashdot.org/story/26/03/30/1649230/microsoft-copilot-is-now-injecting-ads-into-pull-requests-on-github
- Source link: https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-copilot-is-now-injecting-ads-into-pull-requests-on-github-gitlab/
> [2]According to Melbourne-based software developer Zach Manson , a team member used the AI to fix a simple typo in a pull request. Copilot did the job, but it also took the liberty of editing the PR's description to include this message: "Quickly spin up Copilot coding agent tasks from anywhere on your macOS or Windows machine with Raycast." A [3]quick search of that phrase on GitHub shows that the same promotional text appears in over 11,000 pull requests across thousands of repositories. Even [4]merge requests on GitLab aren't safe from the injection.
>
> So what's happening? Well, Raycast has a [5]Copilot extension that can do things like create pull requests from a natural language command. The ad directly names Raycast, so you might think that Raycast is injecting the promo into the PRs to market its own app. But it is more likely that Microsoft is the one doing the injecting. If you look at the raw markdown of the affected pull requests, there is a hidden HTML comment, "START COPILOT CODING AGENT TIPS" placed right just before the ad tip. This suggests Microsoft is using the comment to insert a "tip" that points back to its own developer ecosystem or partner integrations.
[1] https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-copilot-is-now-injecting-ads-into-pull-requests-on-github-gitlab/
[2] https://notes.zachmanson.com/copilot-edited-an-ad-into-my-pr/
[3] http://github.com/search?q=%22Quickly+spin+up+Copilot+coding+agent+tasks+from+anywhere+on+your+macOS+or+Windows+machine+with+Raycast%22&type=pullrequests
[4] http://gitlab.tudelft.nl/thomasvermeule/GeneralAviationAircraftFamilyBenchmark/-/merge_requests/7
[5] https://www.raycast.com/github/github-copilot
Reverse Centaurgirl (Score:5, Funny)
Look, this is just the way the software industry works now! No more hiding from the future of development. No more heads in the sand to deny the apotheosis of programming! No more pretending that the new way isn't better! You Luddites are just going to have to come to grips with the fact the Crest Whitening Strips are recommended to the leading competitor's whitening system three to one!
Could be worse (Score:5, Funny)
They could have Clippy pop up and say things like, "It looks like you are trying to insert trojans into this encryption code. Would you like help with that?"
Clever approach (Score:5, Interesting)
I really like this approach. The next step would be to put ads directly into the source code. Soon you'll see comments like
/**
** THIS FUNCTION WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY EXPRESSVPN
** USE CODE COPILOT26 FOR 90% OFF THE 3 YEAR PLAN
**/
You could quickly monetize your open source projects this way.
Re: (Score:3)
Well, that does mesh with the article about "maybe we should start charging for Open Source".... [1]https://developers.slashdot.or... [slashdot.org]
[1] https://developers.slashdot.org/story/26/03/29/2343236/is-it-time-for-open-source-to-start-charging-for-access
Re: (Score:2)
Just wait until OpenAI or Anthropic include that source code as training data. Soon, you'll see Copilot ads all over ChatGPT and Claude.
Re:Clever approach (Score:4, Interesting)
Why comment the ads out? Include the pulling and display of ads as part of every program.
If I understand correctly, you can have GitHub do the compile for you as well, so there's not need to bother the programmer with details like including their spamware code in the source code they see.
And once they've proven that the automated compile is more efficient than doing it yourself, why even have the option to do it manually?
You know that's the end game. And you know they're planning to do that in any complier Microsoft has any control over, as well.
It's for your own good, after all.
Re: (Score:2)
Let's see if they'll limit themselves to comments or also inject ads into UI code.
Re: (Score:2)
Why stop there? Make it part of the start-up message and if there is none, add one!
you jackasses are smart enough to do self hosting (Score:4, Insightful)
so why are using Microshit?
This is a case where you should blame the victim.
Also, Jack, it's not too late to self host.
So get cracking ... spend your time on self improvement, not complaining that they dun it to ya.
Re: (Score:2)
Problem being that this is requests from people trying to contribute.
Even when they avoided github, they got hit.
I wager at one point, a project that stayed strictly email based will have threads with this sort of slop in it.
Unless you make your repository and all means of contact with you invite-only, it's going to be hard to avoid.
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, I guess invite only is what I am talking about.
But you have to know who's contributing, so I don't see the problem.
Re: (Score:2)
Well, it kind of sucks to have an idea to contribute and no way to contribute because you have to be invited by someone before you can offer...
Re: (Score:3)
Wow arsehole much? You're so desperate to victim blame you fail to realise it's not the people hosting the project having ads injected, it's the people contributing. What do you suggest contributors do? Call up the lead author and get them to send your the original so you can host it on your own server to do the PR request?
Yeah there is a jackass here, a victim blaming one.
Re: (Score:2)
So you're admitting you aren't smart enough to self host?
Try searching "open source replacements for github", maybe that's more your speed.
Hit the road Jack.
Re: you jackasses are smart enough to do self host (Score:1)
Because sometimes the client paying for the work wants it to be on GitHub.
Is it infecting enterprise accounts too? (Score:2)
I'm so glad I retired in January, no longer have to worry about that type of shit.
Re:Is it infecting enterprise accounts too? (Score:4, Interesting)
Having just turned 65, I am now realizing the skills I acquired over 50 years of coding are very close to their expiration date. I feel I will be forced to retire, whether i like it or not.
Re: (Score:3)
>> I feel I will be forced to retire, whether i like it or not.
> Or you could develop news skills and learn how to monetize your daily activities.
I'm planning to sell ad space on my "Get off my lawn!" signs.
Re: (Score:2)
Well, the routinely clueless economics graduates certainly think so. My take is that in a few years actually competent coders will be in high demand to fix the mess and out out a lot of fires. When that happens and if you are inclined to participate, make them pay through the nose.
Title Correction: (Score:5, Insightful)
> Microsoft Copilot Is Now Injecting Ads Into Pull Requests On GitHub
Microslop Copilot Is Now Injecting Ads Into Pull Requests On GitHub
There FTFY.
Use ads to fund development. (Score:1)
If Microsoft is going to put ads in GitHub the people who upload the code should get a cut of the money. The more bugs you fix, the richer you get!
Reminder everyone (Score:5, Insightful)
Microslop does not like you calling them Microslop. It is offensive to call their slop slop and associated slop with Microslop.
Ads? (Score:2)
Raycast seems to be a Github Feature or official Github Client, no? So I would say it is a self promotion, like when sites want you to install their app, not an ad like in "People who implemented sqlite also implemented oracle"
A typo? (Score:2)
They were using CoPilot to "fix a simple typo?" SMH.
Re: (Score:2)
Sounds like very risky behavior. But some people are simply not smart...
Git itself is already distributed.... (Score:2)
Moving to Gitlab or another centralized collaboration system is possible, but it's still centralized with all the baggage that includes. Maybe it's time that -- like the source control system itself -- the collaboration layer on top of it is also decentralized. [1]Radicle [radicle.xyz] is one alternative; are there others?
[1] https://radicle.xyz/
Time for a fucking law choose no advertising. (Score:2)
Such a law would make anything paid for by advertising to also be legally required to have an option of me paying outright cash for use of the service in return for seeing no advertisements, ever, during my subscription period.
Web sites, streaming, podcasts, social crap, software, github, sports, etc. etc. all would have the legal requirement of offering a paid 'fuck advertising' tier.
It's poison (Score:2)
There have been quite a few people working on poisoning the data the AI companies have been snarfing just for this purpose. It's going to get a whole lot worse.
Next step: Adding ads to your code (Score:2)
Will probably not take long.
Enshitification of Github Proceeds Apace (Score:5, Insightful)
In our brave new corporate controlled world adds will be inserted everywhere (and all your data belong to them -- you are automatically opted in, and probably cannot really opt out).
Re: (Score:1)
They tried to warn us.
Several years ago tinfoil-hatters moved to gitlab, sourcehut etc citing concerns over M$ hosting github.
Everyone ignored them as leftards but here we are in 2026 with Microsoft a sad reflection of the former selves, operating as a Temu-Google.
Re: (Score:1)
Turns out the leftards are right and we do need to listen to them. :(
Re: Enshitification of Github Proceeds Apace (Score:2)
Simp harder
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Sorry, you morons elected Trump, you've lost all rights to claim things are smart or stupid.
And if you're wondering, repeating Trump's stupid bullshit arguments don't make them smart, it only make you look like the moron you are.
Re: (Score:3)
When do police ever prevent crimes?
Re: (Score:2)
I don't think Microsoft doing predictable Microsoft monopoly things was a leftard idea thing. It's not political. It's about greed. This is what they have always done. I was hoping someone would eventually address the monopoly. Neither party does anything.
Re: (Score:2)
Though they managed to ultimately extend this github brand to github copilot, that will gladly push stuff to forgejo, gitlab, etc...
Re:Enshitification of Github Proceeds Apace (Score:4, Funny)
Leela: "Didn't you have ads in the 20th century?"
Fry: "Well sure, but not in our dreams! Only on tv and radio...and in magazines...and movies. And at ball games, on buses, and milk cartons, and t-shirts, and bananas, and written on the sky. But not in dreams! No sirree."
Re: (Score:2)
Even worse, they've extended it to tooling that they pitch to developers who use git for anything under the brand affinity of 'github' (which *way* too many people already assumed git == github).