Or at least, it certainly looks like it. And it's aimed directly at one of the most vulnerable spots Daily Kos has - a propensity to recommend a diary that's bitching about a corporation.
Please remember, when you're reading a diary that says the author has been ripped off by X corporation, that the spider-bots that search engines send out don't care whether an article is positive or negative - they care whether the name of the company is linked or prominently mentioned within the text. A diary that seemingly bashes a corporation, but manages to include multiple uses of the full name of the corporation, will nevertheless push the stats on that corporation for Search purposes.
So, if you're tempted to recommend a diary that falls within this category, please check a couple of things:
1. Is it a brand new diarist? If this is their first publication, with no comments except for the Tip Jar, your nose should twitch.
2. Are they sticking around for comments? If not, the spammish odor wafting up gets even stronger. If you're not sure, leave a comment but no recommend, and see what happens. If they're for real, they'll be back. If they come back and make a substantive reply, recommend away.
Remember that Daily Kos is one of the most tempting targets around for spammers. With the number of hits the site gets, they salivate over getting a single mention that actually stays around for more than a few minutes. Today's US Rank for the site is #207. That's above The Hill, The New York Times, MSNBC, Citicorp, and Weather.gov.
2:24pm CST 8/10/15 Update
The original diary which I suspected might be spam looks to be legitimate. I still think this is a good area to watch for in the future, because, by its nature, it's a blind spot. Thanks to all who commented and contributed.