If auto banning was real, it’d be content.

If mass reporting could lead to automatic bans, why then are there no player vigilante groups? The idea is suggested every 24 hours on this sub.

Why are there no addons to enable vigilante behavior? While you can't send report via addon, you definitely could make it extremely easy for a disorganized, distributed group to mass report specific names.

Why are there no YouTube channels or Twitch streams making money off the spectacle of banning bots? Why are there no Reddit posts with bot-banning clips to farm sad little updoots?

Why did a group of botters resort to credible death threats, risking real legal action, when they could have just mass reported the user killing off their bots?

On the other hand, it would make a ton of sense for botters to spread misinformation about auto-banning. It costs absolutely nothing to do, it protects their operations by intimidating potential interference, and it fits the existing "Blizzard bad" narrative perfectly.

Can mass reports lead to temporary chat mutes? Yes, absolutely. But they can't lead to auto bans.