I really doubt they’re wasting time astroturfing a Linux community on Lemmy.

A bots (not human) time is very easy to waste, and if your product is having problems right now, one of the first things corporations would do to protect their profits is to try to reshape the narrative away from the problems, from the negative final spotlight on your product.

And finally, as I've linked before in this conversation, Microsoft has a long history of using FUD.

You’re not going to convince hardcore devotees with a meme.

They're not directed just towards the 'hardcore the devotees', they're also directed at the person who's considering moving, who's trying to do some research about it, and does searching about it, and then finds the memes/communities.

Stopping potential switchers before they switch is a powerful thing to do to preserve your products/profits.

And if you do these memes/messages often, and if they send a certain message/narrative, you would definitely introduce FUD into the people who would consider moving to Linux.

Pay attention to the meta.

But the likelihood of them coordinating a meme based offensive against the, is it 4% now?

But we're seeing an uptick recently like we haven't seen before, as it seems like the momentum is on the Linux side right now.

Also a standard good policy is to 'kill the baby in the crib', especially so when there seems to be more dissatisfaction with Windows 11 these recent days.

A potent combination of situations.

And finally, there's nothing wrong (from a CEOs point of view) with just 'beating down' your competition every day of the week, regardless of their current market share, especially when it's easy to do so.

I am sure that you could turn this into me being hired by Microsoft to defend their agenda

Honestly? The thought has come to my mind, that you're actually an AI bot, part of the process to protect the current redirection of the narrative. Not hired by Microsoft per se, but a bot used by the company that any OS company would hire to shape the narrative.

And the fact that you brought it up first preemptively, and the way you use your verbiage, adds to the suspicion.

but in the end, the most plaussible explanation is usually the true one

You're assuming yours is the most plausible explanation.

You keep dismissing the ease of use of using AI bots in today's environment to redirect the narrative, and how often we're seeing it done across all Internet-based media today.

There's companies out there that actually sell these services to corporations, and profit from doing so. Profit is always a strong motive generator.