Reddit

{{For timeline}}

File:Alexis Ohanian Reflections-Projections ACM 2009.JPG speaking in October 2009]]

File:Web Summit 2017 - Centre Stage Day 2 CG1 7885 (38232183112) (cropped).jpg

The idea and initial development of Reddit originated with college roommates Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian in 2005, who attended a lecture by programmer-entrepreneur Paul Graham in Boston during their spring break from University of Virginia.{{cite news |last=Hempel |first=Jessi |date=October 6, 2015 |title=Inside Reddit's plan to recover from its epic meltdown |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/2015/10/reddit-survived-meltdown-can-fix/ |access-date=March 13, 2018 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108182858/https://www.wired.com/2015/10/reddit-survived-meltdown-can-fix/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Fink |first=Steve |date=August 2015 |title=Mr. Meme |work=Baltimore |url=http://www.baltimoremagazine.com/2015/8/4/reddit-ceo-alexis-ohanian-reflects-on-10-years |access-date=March 13, 2018 |archive-date=October 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001070049/https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/2015/8/4/reddit-ceo-alexis-ohanian-reflects-on-10-years |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Williams |first=Michelle |date=August 2015 |title='This internet thing is not a fad': Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian to discuss online entrepreneurship at UMass Amherst |url=http://www.masslive.com/business-news/index.ssf/2014/02/reddit_co-founder_alexis_ohanian_steve_k.html |access-date=March 27, 2018 |website=Mass Live |archive-date=October 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001070334/https://www.masslive.com/business-news/index.ssf/2014/02/reddit_co-founder_alexis_ohanian_steve_k.html |url-status=live }} After speaking with Huffman and Ohanian following the lecture, Graham invited the two to apply to his startup incubator Y Combinator. Their initial idea, My Mobile Menu, was unsuccessful,{{cite podcast |url=https://www.marketplace.org/2017/02/28/economy/make-me-smart-kai-and-molly/6-reddit-ceo-steve-huffman-not-horsin-around |title=Make Me Smart 6: Reddit CEO Steve Huffman is not horsing around |publisher=NPR |host=Guy Raz |date=August 31, 2017 |access-date=March 28, 2018 |archive-date=May 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180515200257/https://www.marketplace.org/2017/02/28/economy/make-me-smart-kai-and-molly/6-reddit-ceo-steve-huffman-not-horsin-around |url-status=live }}{{cite episode |title=Live Episode! Reddit: Alexis Ohanian & Steve Huffman |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=545635014 |series=How I Built This With Guy Raz |network=NPR |date=August 31, 2017 |access-date=January 18, 2019 |archive-date=April 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403010129/https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=545635014 |url-status=live }} and was intended to allow users to order food by SMS text messaging. During a brainstorming session to pitch another startup, the idea was created for what Graham called the "front page of the Internet". For that idea, Huffman and Ohanian were accepted in Y Combinator's first class. Supported by the funding from Y Combinator,{{Cite news |last=Wallace |first=Benjamin |date=October 6, 2015 |title=Reddit Redux |work=New York |url=https://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/10/reddit-founder-steve-huffman.html |access-date=March 28, 2018 |archive-date=March 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180329143418/http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/10/reddit-founder-steve-huffman.html |url-status=live }} Huffman coded the site in Common Lisp{{cite book |last=Christine Lagorio-Chafkin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WNpKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT70 |title=We Are the Nerds: The Birth and Tumultuous Life of Reddit, the Internet's Culture Laboratory |publisher=Hachette Books |year=2018 |isbn=978-0316435369 |page=70 |access-date=April 19, 2019 |archive-date=June 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240627043346/https://books.google.com/books?id=WNpKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT70 |url-status=live }} and together with Ohanian launched Reddit in June 2005.{{cite web |last=Richards |first=Zak |title=Unleashing High-Profile, High-Profit Websites|url=http://www.seas.virginia.edu/pubs/uvaengineer/websites.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916100000/http://www.seas.virginia.edu/pubs/uvaengineer/websites.php |archive-date=September 16, 2012 |access-date=January 18, 2019}}{{cite web |last=Macale |first=Sherilynn "Cheri" |date=October 13, 2011 |title=A rundown of Reddit's history and community [Infographic] |url=https://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2011/10/14/a-rundown-of-reddits-history-and-community-infographic/ |access-date=November 12, 2011 |website=The Next Web Social Media |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108132540/http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2011/10/14/a-rundown-of-reddits-history-and-community-infographic/ |url-status=live }} Embarrassed by an empty-looking site, the founders created hundreds of fake users for their posts to make it look more populated.{{cite news |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/06/reddit-founders-made-hundreds-of-fake-profiles-so-site-looked-popular/ |title=reddit founders made hundreds of fake profiles so site looked popular |date=June 21, 2012 |website=Ars Technica |author=Casey Johnston |access-date=May 5, 2022 |archive-date=October 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001031014/https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/06/reddit-founders-made-hundreds-of-fake-profiles-so-site-looked-popular/ |url-status=live }}

The team expanded to include Christopher Slowe in November 2005. Between November 2005 and January 2006, Reddit merged with Aaron Swartz's company Infogami, and Swartz became an equal owner of the resulting parent company, Not A Bug.{{Cite news |last=Singel |first=Ryan |date=July 19, 2011 |title=Feds Charge Activist as Hacker for Downloading Millions of Academic Articles |work=Wired |url= https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/07/swartz-arrest/ |access-date=January 12, 2013 |archive-date=January 15, 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130115040815/http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/07/swartz-arrest/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Swartz |first=Aaron |author-link=Aaron Swartz |date=February 27, 2006 |title=Introducing Infogami |url= http://www.infogami.com/blog/introduction |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081202043829/http://www.infogami.com/blog/introduction |archive-date=December 2, 2008 |access-date=January 6, 2007 |publisher=Infogami}} (archive.org link) Swartz then helped rewrite the software running Reddit using web.py, a web framework he developed. The passage from Aaron Swartz's blog post "Rewriting Reddit" reveals that the switch from Lisp to Python, specifically using the web.py framework developed by Swartz, was driven by a desire for simplicity, maintainability, and performance. Despite facing skepticism and critique from the Lisp community, the change was justified by the efficiency and clarity Python provided for the project. This initiative not only influenced the technical evolution of Reddit but also contributed to the broader web development community by inspiring other frameworks and remaining a significant part of Reddit's history.{{Cite web |url= http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/rewritingreddit |title=Rewriting Reddit (Aaron Swartz's Raw Thought) |access-date=February 28, 2024 |archive-date=February 28, 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240228074421/http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/rewritingreddit |url-status=live }} (In 2020, Ohanian claimed that rather than Swartz being a co-founder, the correct description would be that Swartz's company was acquired by Reddit 6 months after he and Huffman had started.){{Cite tweet |number=93374221685755904 |user=alexisohanian |title=Alexis Ohanian Sr. 🚀 on Twitter: "ATTN @nytimes Steve Huffman & I founded @reddit. We acquired Aaron Swartz's company infogami 6mos after we launched." / Twitter |date=July 19, 2011 |access-date=July 17, 2020}}

Huffman and Ohanian sold Reddit to Condé Nast Publications, owner of Wired, on October 31, 2006, for a reported $10 million to $20 million and the team moved to San Francisco.{{cite web |last=Arrington |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Arrington |date=October 31, 2006 |title=Breaking news: Condé Nast/Wired Acquires Reddit |url=https://techcrunch.com/2006/10/31/breaking-news-conde-nastwired-acquires-reddit/ |access-date=January 6, 2007 |work= TechCrunch |archive-date=February 15, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180215091751/https://techcrunch.com/2006/10/31/breaking-news-conde-nastwired-acquires-reddit/ |url-status=live }} In November 2006, Swartz blogged complaining about the new corporate environment, criticizing its level of productivity.{{cite web |last=Aaron Swartz |date=November 15, 2006 |title=Office Space |url= http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/officespace |website=Aaron Swartz's Raw Thought |access-date=July 17, 2020 |archive-date=June 8, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200608215757/http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/officespace |url-status=live }} In January 2007, Swartz was fired for undisclosed reasons.{{cite web |date=May 7, 2007 |title=A Chat with Aaron Swartz |url= http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2007-05-07-n78.html |publisher=Blogoscoped.com |access-date=December 4, 2011 |archive-date=April 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100427085047/http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2007-05-07-n78.html |url-status=live }}

Huffman and Ohanian left Reddit in 2009.{{cite news |last=Peterson |first=Andrea |date=July 15, 2015 |title=The two co-founder quotes that explain Reddit's struggle to grow up |newspaper=The Washington Post |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/07/14/the-two-co-founder-quotes-that-explain-reddits-struggle-to-grow-up/ |access-date=May 16, 2018 |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201112012028/https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/?next_url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/07/14/the-two-co-founder-quotes-that-explain-reddits-struggle-to-grow-up/ |url-status=live }} Huffman went on to co-found Hipmunk with Adam Goldstein, and later recruited Ohanian{{cite news |last=Lagorio-Chafkin |first=Christine |date=June 27, 2011 |title=30 Under 30: Adam Goldstein and Steve Huffman, Founders of Hipmunk |work=Inc. |url= https://www.inc.com/30under30/2011/profile-steve-huffman-adam-goldstein-founders-hipmunk.html |access-date=May 16, 2018 |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200807041441/https://www.inc.com/30under30/2011/profile-steve-huffman-adam-goldstein-founders-hipmunk.html |url-status=live }} and Slowe to the new company.{{cite web |last=Kincaid |first=Jason |date=November 1, 2010 |title=Reddit Chief Takes Flight To Hipmunk, Explains Why He's Leaving Now |url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/11/01/reddit-chief-takes-flight-to-hipmunk-explains-why-hes-leaving-now/ |access-date=December 4, 2011 |work=TechCrunch |archive-date=December 5, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111205043531/http://techcrunch.com/2010/11/01/reddit-chief-takes-flight-to-hipmunk-explains-why-hes-leaving-now/ |url-status=live }} After Huffman and Ohanian left Reddit, Erik Martin, who joined the company as a community manager in 2008 and later became general manager in 2011, played a role in Reddit's growth.{{Cite news |last=Parks |first=Miles |date=January 1, 2015 |title=Erik Martin helped make Reddit huge, then he left. What's next for an Internet master? |newspaper=The Washington Post |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/erik-martin-helped-make-reddit-huge-then-he-left-whats-next-for-an-internet-master/2015/01/01/46535968-7a6c-11e4-b821-503cc7efed9e_story.html |access-date=May 16, 2018 |archive-date=April 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417183839/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/erik-martin-helped-make-reddit-huge-then-he-left-whats-next-for-an-internet-master/2015/01/01/46535968-7a6c-11e4-b821-503cc7efed9e_story.html |url-status=live }} VentureBeat noted that Martin was "responsible for keeping the site going" under Condé Nast's ownership.{{cite web |last=Cheredar |first=Tom |date=March 30, 2012 |title=Reddit General Manager Erik Martin leads Time's "100 Most Influential" poll |url=https://venturebeat.com/2012/03/30/reddit-time-100-most-influential/ |access-date=May 16, 2018 |website=VentureBeat |archive-date=November 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181112134729/https://venturebeat.com/2012/03/30/reddit-time-100-most-influential/ |url-status=live }}

Yishan Wong joined Reddit as CEO in 2012.{{Cite news |last=Kerr |first=Dara |date=March 8, 2012 |title=Reddit names new CEO, Yishan Wong |work=CNET |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/reddit-names-new-ceo-yishan-wong/ |access-date=May 16, 2018 |archive-date=January 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121158/https://www.cnet.com/news/reddit-names-new-ceo-yishan-wong/ |url-status=live}} Wong resigned from Reddit in 2014, citing disagreements about his proposal to move the company's offices from San Francisco to nearby Daly City, but also the "stressful and draining" nature of the position.{{cite web |date=November 14, 2014 |title=Reddit CEO Explains Why He and Company Battled Over Office Space |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/reddit-ceo-explains-company-battled-office-space/story?id=26910999 |access-date=March 17, 2019 |website=ABC News |language=en |archive-date=April 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403010124/https://abcnews.go.com/Business/reddit-ceo-explains-company-battled-office-space/story?id=26910999 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Rushe |first=Dominic |date=November 13, 2014 |title=Reddit CEO Yishan Wong resigns after row about new office space |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/13/reddit-ceo-yishan-wong-resign-office-space |access-date=May 16, 2018 |archive-date=September 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180924153053/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/13/reddit-ceo-yishan-wong-resign-office-space |url-status=live }} Ohanian credited Wong with the company's newfound success as its user base grew from 35 million to 174 million. Wong oversaw the company as it raised $50 million in funding and spun off as an independent company.{{cite web |last=Loizos |first=Connie |date=July 31, 2017 |title=Reddit just raised a new round that values the company at $1.8 billion |url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/31/reddit-just-raised-a-new-round-that-values-the-company-at-1-8-billion/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180513153434/https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/31/reddit-just-raised-a-new-round-that-values-the-company-at-1-8-billion/ |archive-date=May 13, 2018 |access-date=May 16, 2018 |website=TechCrunch}} Also during this time, Reddit began accepting the digital currency Bitcoin for its Reddit Gold subscription service through a partnership with bitcoin payment processor Coinbase in February 2013.{{cite web |last=Olanoff |first=Drew |title=Reddit Starts Accepting Bitcoin for Reddit Gold Purchases Thanks To Partnership With Coinbase |date=February 14, 2013 |url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/02/14/reddit-starts-accepting-bitcoin-for-reddit-gold-purchases-thanks-to-partnership-with-coinbase/ |access-date=February 14, 2013 |publisher=Techcrunch |archive-date=February 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130216032518/http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/14/reddit-starts-accepting-bitcoin-for-reddit-gold-purchases-thanks-to-partnership-with-coinbase/ |url-status=live }} Ellen Pao replaced Wong as interim CEO in 2014 and resigned in 2015 amid a user revolt over the firing of a popular Reddit employee.{{Cite news |last=Alba |first=Davey |author-link=Davey Alba |date=July 10, 2015 |title=Ellen Pao steps down as CEO after Reddit revolt |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/2015/07/reddit-ceo-ellen-pao-steps-down-huffman-replacement/ |access-date=May 16, 2018 |archive-date=May 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180529162505/https://www.wired.com/2015/07/reddit-ceo-ellen-pao-steps-down-huffman-replacement/ |url-status=live }} During her tenure, Reddit initiated an anti-harassment policy,{{Cite news |date=May 15, 2015 |title=Reddit, under Ellen Pao, launches harassment crackdown |work=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-32749408 |access-date=May 16, 2018 |archive-date=September 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180924142518/https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-32749408 |url-status=live }} banned involuntary sexualization, and banned several forums that focused on bigoted content or harassment of individuals.{{Cite news |last=Dewey |first=Caitlin |date=June 10, 2015 |title=These are the 5 subreddits Reddit banned under its game-changing anti-harassment policy — and why it banned them |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2015/06/10/these-are-the-5-subreddits-reddit-banned-under-its-game-changing-anti-harassment-policy-and-why-it-banned-them/ |access-date=May 16, 2018 |archive-date=July 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703144121/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2015/06/10/these-are-the-5-subreddits-reddit-banned-under-its-game-changing-anti-harassment-policy-and-why-it-banned-them/ |url-status=live }}

After five years away from the company, Ohanian and Huffman returned to leadership roles at Reddit: Ohanian became the full-time executive chairman in November 2014 following Wong's resignation, while Pao's departure on July 10, 2015, led to Huffman's return as the company's chief executive.{{cite web |last=Breit |first=Johannes |date=July 20, 2018 |title=We Banned Holocaust Deniers From Our History Subreddit. Here's Why Facebook Should Do the Same. |url=https://slate.com/technology/2018/07/the-askhistorians-subreddit-banned-holocaust-deniers-and-facebook-should-too.html |access-date=August 19, 2018 |publisher=Slate.com |archive-date=August 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818190346/https://slate.com/technology/2018/07/the-askhistorians-subreddit-banned-holocaust-deniers-and-facebook-should-too.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Issac |first=Mike |date=July 10, 2015 |title=Ellen Pao Is Stepping Down as Reddit's Chief |work=The New York Times |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/11/technology/ellen-pao-reddit-chief-executive-resignation.html?smid=tw-nytimes&_r=0 |access-date=July 10, 2015 |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |archive-url=

https://web.archive.org/web/20180612222944/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/11/technology/ellen-pao-reddit-chief-executive-resignation.html?smid=tw-nytimes&_r=0 |url-status=live }} After Huffman rejoined Reddit as CEO, he launched Reddit's iOS and Android apps, improved Reddit's mobile website, and created A/B testing infrastructure. The company launched a major redesign of its website in April 2018.{{Cite news |last=Pardes |first=Arielle |date=April 2, 2018 |title=The inside story of Reddit's redesign |magazine=Wired |url= https://www.wired.com/story/reddit-redesign/ |access-date=May 16, 2018 |archive-date=April 3, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190403010137/https://www.wired.com/story/reddit-redesign/ |url-status=live }} Huffman said new users were turned off from Reddit because it had looked like a "dystopian Craigslist". Reddit also instituted several technological improvements,{{Cite news |last=Lagorio-Chafkin |first=Christine |date=March 9, 2018 |title=Steve Huffman Talks About Bringing Reddit Back From the Brink |work=Inc. |url= https://www.inc.com/christine-lagorio/reddit-ceo-steve-huffman-speaks-at-sxsw.html |access-date=March 13, 2018 |archive-date=March 14, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180314202831/https://www.inc.com/christine-lagorio/reddit-ceo-steve-huffman-speaks-at-sxsw.html |url-status=live }} such as a new tool that allows users to hide posts, comments, and private messages from selected redditors in an attempt to curb online harassment,{{cite web |date=April 6, 2016 |title=Reddit Launches New Block Tools To Help Temper Harassment |url=http://www.hngn.com/articles/195447/20160406/reddit-launches-blocking-tool-fight-trolling-harassment.htm |access-date=April 8, 2016 |archive-date=April 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406222045/http://www.hngn.com/articles/195447/20160406/reddit-launches-blocking-tool-fight-trolling-harassment.htm |url-status=live }} and new content guidelines. These new content guidelines were aimed at banning content inciting violence and quarantining offensive material. Slowe, the company's first employee, rejoined Reddit in 2017 as chief technology officer.{{cite news |last=Matney |first=Lucas |date=August 27, 2017 |title=Reddit's new CTO was the company's first hire |url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/27/reddits-first-employee-is-the-companys-new-cto/ |access-date=May 17, 2018 |website=TechCrunch |archive-date=February 20, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180220070446/https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/27/reddits-first-employee-is-the-companys-new-cto/ |url-status=live }}

Ohanian resigned as a member of the board on June 5, 2020 in response to the George Floyd protests and requested to be replaced "by a Black candidate".{{cite web |title=r/announcements – Upcoming changes to our content policy, our board, and where we're going from here |url= https://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/gxas21/upcoming_changes_to_our_content_policy_our_board/ |access-date=June 5, 2020 |website=reddit |date=June 5, 2020 |archive-date=June 5, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200605193056/https://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/gxas21/upcoming_changes_to_our_content_policy_our_board/ |url-status=live }} Michael Seibel, then-CEO of Y Combinator, was subsequently named to the board.{{Cite news |last1=Yurieff |first1=Kaya |last2=Ashley O'Brien |first2=Sara |date=June 10, 2020 |title=Alexis Ohanian asked to be replaced by a black candidate on Reddit's board. Reddit listened |url= https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/10/tech/reddit-michael-seibel/index.html |access-date=June 13, 2023 |website=CNN |archive-date=June 10, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200610150941/https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/10/tech/reddit-michael-seibel/index.html |url-status=live }} On March 5, 2021, Reddit announced that it had appointed Drew Vollero, who had worked at Snapchat's parent company Snap (SNAP), as its first Chief Financial Officer weeks after the site was thrust into the spotlight due to its role in the GameStop trading frenzy. Vollero's appointment spurred speculation of an initial public offering, a move that senior leaders have considered publicly.{{cite news |last1=Duffy |first1=Clare |title=Reddit names its first-ever CFO as it mulls IPO |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/05/tech/reddit-cfo-drew-vollero/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308035825/https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/05/tech/reddit-cfo-drew-vollero/index.html |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |access-date=March 8, 2021 |work=CNN}}

{{As of|2021|August|df=US}}, Reddit is valued at more than $10 billion following a $410 million funding round.{{cite news |last=Isaac |first=Mike |date=August 12, 2021 |title=Reddit is valued at more than $10 billion in latest funding round. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/12/technology/reddit-new-funding.html |url-access=limited |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/12/technology/reddit-new-funding.html |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |access-date=September 3, 2021 |work=The New York Times}}{{cbignore}} The company was looking to hire investment bankers and lawyers to assist in making an initial public offering. However, CEO Steve Huffman said the company has not decided on the timing for when to go public.{{cite news |last=Sen |first=Anirban |date=September 2, 2021 |title=EXCLUSIVE-Reddit seeks to hire advisers for U.S. IPO -sources |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/reddit-ipo/exclusive-reddit-seeks-to-hire-advisers-for-u-s-ipo-sources-idUSL4N2Q434Y |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903004332/https://www.reuters.com/article/reddit-ipo/exclusive-reddit-seeks-to-hire-advisers-for-u-s-ipo-sources-idUSL4N2Q434Y |archive-date=September 3, 2021 |access-date=September 3, 2021 |work=Reuters}} In December 2021, Reddit revealed that it had confidentially filed for an initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.{{cite news |last=Picchi |first=Aimee |date=December 16, 2021 |title=Reddit says it has filed for an IPO |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/reddit-ipo-filing-confidential-sec-wallstreetbets/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427235036/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/reddit-ipo-filing-confidential-sec-wallstreetbets/ |archive-date=April 27, 2022 |access-date=May 4, 2022 |work=CBS News}}{{cite news |date=December 15, 2021 |title=Reddit I.P.O. Is a Step Closer After Confidential Filing to Go Public |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/15/business/reddit-ipo.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427235428/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/15/business/reddit-ipo.html |archive-date=April 27, 2022 |access-date=May 4, 2022 |work=The New York Times}}Thomas, Owen (December 15, 2021). [https://www.protocol.com/bulletins/reddit-ipo "Reddit has filed for an IPO."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706011649/https://www.protocol.com/bulletins/reddit-ipo|date=July 6, 2022}} Protocol. Retrieved May 18, 2022. Reddit's initial public offering opened on March 20, 2024, at $34 per share and a $6.4 billion valuation.{{Cite web |last=Isaac |first=Mike |date=March 20, 2024 |title=Reddit Prices I.P.O. at $34 a Share, in a Positive Sign for Tech |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/20/technology/reddit-ipo-stock-price.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322020813/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/20/technology/reddit-ipo-stock-price.html |archive-date=March 22, 2024 |access-date=March 21, 2024 |website=The New York Times}} They went public the next day on the New York Stock Exchange at $47 per share and rose to $50.44 at market close on their first day of trading, reaching a market cap of $9.5 billion.{{Cite news |last=Isaac |first=Mike |date=March 21, 2024 |title=Reddit Rises 48% in First Day of Trading |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/21/technology/reddit-stock-ipo-market.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240321235543/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/21/technology/reddit-stock-ipo-market.html |archive-date=March 21, 2024 |access-date=March 21, 2024 |website=The New York Times}} The current market cap as of July 2024 is $10 billion.

Reddit is a website comprising user-generated content—including photos, videos, links, and text-based posts—and discussions of this content in what is essentially a bulletin board system.{{cite web |last=Will Nicol |date=July 19, 2018 |title=What is Reddit? A beginner's guide to the front page of the internet |url=https://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/what-is-reddit/ |access-date=July 26, 2018 |publisher=Digital Trends |archive-date=July 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728214840/https://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/what-is-reddit/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Michael Franco |date=September 5, 2018 |title=The Beginner's Guide to Reddit |url=https://lifehacker.com/a-beginners-guide-to-reddit-1798643829 |access-date=August 1, 2018 |publisher=Lifehacker |archive-date=November 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114225547/https://lifehacker.com/a-beginners-guide-to-reddit-1798643829 |url-status=live }} The name "Reddit" is a play-on-words with the phrase "read it", i.e., "I read it on Reddit."{{cite news |last=Nudd |first=Tim |date=December 1, 2014 |title=The Meaning of 35 Brand Names, From Etsy to Reddit |work=Adweek |location=New York City, New York, U.S. |url=https://www.adweek.com/creativity/meaning-35-brand-names-etsy-reddit-161694/ |access-date=August 1, 2018 |issn=0199-2864 |oclc=1001870403 |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112043012/https://www.adweek.com/creativity/meaning-35-brand-names-etsy-reddit-161694/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Reddit Frequently Asked Questions |url=https://www.reddit.com/wiki/faq |access-date=April 10, 2014 |website=Reddit |archive-date=November 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127015655/http://www.reddit.com/wiki/faq |url-status=live }} According to Reddit, in 2019, there were approximately 430 million monthly users,{{cite news |last1=Kastrenakes |first1=Jacob |title=Reddit reveals daily active user count for the first time: 52 million |url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/1/21754984/reddit-dau-daily-users-revealed |agency=The Verge |date=December 1, 2020 |access-date=February 3, 2021 |archive-date=June 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220618132049/https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/1/21754984/reddit-dau-daily-users-revealed |url-status=live }} who are known as "redditors". The site's content is divided into categories or communities known on-site as "subreddits", of which there are more than 138,000 active communities.{{cite news |last=Molina |first=Brett |date=August 31, 2017 |title=Reddit is extremely popular. Here's how to watch what your kids are doing |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/talkingtech/2017/08/31/reddit-extremely-popular-heres-how-watch-what-your-kids-doing/607996001/ |issn=0734-7456 |oclc=931943141 |access-date=July 26, 2018 |archive-date=August 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813093903/https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/talkingtech/2017/08/31/reddit-extremely-popular-heres-how-watch-what-your-kids-doing/607996001/ |url-status=live }}

As a network of communities, Reddit's core content consists of posts from its users. Users can comment on others' posts to continue the conversation. {{anchor|AnchorVote}}A key feature to Reddit is that users can cast positive or negative votes, called upvotes and downvotes respectively, for each post and comment on the site. The number of upvotes or downvotes determines the posts' visibility on the site, so the most popular content is displayed to the most people. Users can also earn "karma" for their posts and comments, a status that reflects their standing within the community and their contributions to Reddit. Posts are sometimes automatically archived after six months, meaning they can no longer be commented or voted on.{{cite web|title=Reddit Lets Community Moderators Enable Comments, Votes on Older Posts|date=October 4, 2021|url=https://www.adweek.com/media/reddit-lets-community-moderators-enable-comments-votes-on-older-posts/|access-date=June 5, 2023|archive-date=June 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605204814/https://www.adweek.com/media/reddit-lets-community-moderators-enable-comments-votes-on-older-posts/|url-status=live}}

The most popular posts from the site's numerous subreddits are visible on the front page to those who browse the site without an account.{{cite web |last=Rich McCormick |date=February 15, 2017 |title=Reddit overhauls its front page for new users and lurkers |url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/2/15/14632390/reddit-front-page-popular-change-new-users |publisher=The Verge |access-date=July 26, 2018 |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112030905/http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/15/14632390/reddit-front-page-popular-change-new-users |url-status=live }} By default for those users, the front page will display the subreddit r/popular, featuring top-ranked posts across all of Reddit, excluding not-safe-for-work communities and others that are most commonly filtered out by users (even if they are safe for work).{{cite web |last=Menegus |first=Bryan |date=June 2, 2017 |title=Reddit Is Finally Fixing its Trump Spam Problem |url=https://gizmodo.com/reddit-is-finally-fixing-its-trump-spam-problem-1792061056 |publisher=Gizmodo |access-date=February 2, 2018 |archive-date=November 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114235322/https://gizmodo.com/reddit-is-finally-fixing-its-trump-spam-problem-1792061056 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Cory Scarola |date=February 16, 2017 |title=Reddit Gave Its Homepage a Makeover |url=https://www.inverse.com/article/27943-reddit-popular-subreddit-homepage |website=Inverse |access-date=September 13, 2018 |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112025501/https://www.inverse.com/article/27943-reddit-popular-subreddit-homepage |url-status=live }} The subreddit r/all originally did not filter topics,{{cite news |last=Shah |first=Saqib |date=February 15, 2017 |title=Reddit is eliminating explicit content from its public homepage |work=Digital Trends |url=https://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/reddit-popular-front-page-update/ |access-date=May 25, 2018 |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807011434/https://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/reddit-popular-front-page-update/ |url-status=live }} but as of 2021 it does not include not-safe-for-work content.{{cite web|last=KeyserSosa|date=February 11, 2021|title=Removing sexually explicit content from r/all|url=http://www.reddit.com/r/changelog/comments/lhnvok/removing_sexually_explicit_content_from_rall/|website=r/changelog|access-date=September 4, 2021|archive-date=September 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905004852/https://www.reddit.com/r/changelog/comments/lhnvok/removing_sexually_explicit_content_from_rall/|url-status=live}} Registered users who subscribe to subreddits see the top content from the subreddits to which they subscribe on their personal front pages. Additionally, some subreddits have a karma and account age requirement to discourage bots and spammers from posting.

Front-page rank—for both the general front page and for individual subreddits—is determined by a combination of factors, including the age of the submission, positive ("upvoted") to negative ("downvoted") feedback ratio, and the total vote-count.{{cite web |title=Reddit algorithm |url=http://www.seomoz.org/blog/reddit-stumbleupon-delicious-and-hacker-news-algorithms-exposed |website=seomoz |date=July 2, 2008 |access-date=October 31, 2010 |archive-date=May 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512103530/http://www.seomoz.org/blog/reddit-stumbleupon-delicious-and-hacker-news-algorithms-exposed |url-status=live }}

Registering an account with Reddit is free and requires an email address. In addition to commenting and voting, registered users can also create their own subreddit on a topic of their choosing.{{cite web |last=Andrew Couts |date=November 8, 2012 |title=How to create your own Reddit community |url=https://www.digitaltrends.com/how-to/how-to-create-your-own-subreddit/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403010136/https://www.digitaltrends.com/how-to/how-to-create-your-own-subreddit/ |archive-date=April 3, 2019 |publisher=Digital Trends |access-date=August 1, 2018}} In Reddit style, usernames begin with "u/". Noteworthy redditors include u/Poem_for_your_sprog, who responds to messages across Reddit in verse,{{cite web |last=Fiona Zublin |date=October 13, 2016 |title=The poet laureate of Reddit |url=https://www.ozy.com/good-sht/the-poet-laureate-of-reddit/71962 |publisher=Ozy |access-date=August 1, 2018 |archive-date=December 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203103851/https://www.ozy.com/good-sht/the-poet-laureate-of-reddit/71962 |url-status=dead }} u/Shitty_Watercolour who posts paintings in response to posts,{{cite news |last=Packham |first=Alfie |date=July 31, 2016 |title=Meet Shitty: the internet's favourite self-deprecating watercolourist |work=The Guardian |location= London |url= https://www.theguardian.com/careers/2016/jul/31/meet-shitty-the-internets-favourite-self-deprecating-watercolourist |access-date=August 1, 2018 |archive-date=April 3, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190403010135/https://www.theguardian.com/careers/2016/jul/31/meet-shitty-the-internets-favourite-self-deprecating-watercolourist |url-status=live }} and u/spez, the CEO of Reddit (Steve Huffman).

Subreddits are overseen by moderators, Reddit users who earn the title by creating a subreddit or being promoted by a current moderator. Reddit users may also request to moderate a sub that has no moderators or very inactive ones in r/redditrequest. These requests are reviewed by the Reddit admins. Moderators are volunteers who manage their communities, set and enforce community-specific rules, remove posts and comments that violate these rules, and often work to keep discussions in their subreddit on topic.{{cite news |first=Kim |last=Renfro |date=January 13, 2016 |title=From whom the troll trolls: A day in the life of a Reddit moderator |url= https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-a-reddit-moderator-2016-1 |access-date=August 1, 2018 |work=Tech Insider |archive-date=January 16, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160116104754/https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-a-reddit-moderator-2016-1 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Morris |first=Kevin |date=October 5, 2012 |title=Meet the mods—the true stars of Reddit |work=The Daily Dot |url= https://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-moderators-interview-bep-raerth-syncretic/ |access-date=October 9, 2018 |archive-date=November 3, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181103013356/https://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-moderators-interview-bep-raerth-syncretic/ |url-status=live }} Admins, by contrast, are employees of Reddit.

Early on, Reddit implemented shadow banning, purportedly to address spam accounts, while saying, "it's still the only tool we have to punish people who break the rules".{{cite web|author1=krispykrackers|title=On shadowbans. • r/self|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/self/comments/3ey0fv/on_shadowbans/|website=Reddit|language=en}}{{cite web |last1=Shah |first1=Saqib |title=What is a ‘shadow ban’? Lizzo claims TikTok is shutting her videos out of its algorithm |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/tech/what-is-shadow-ban-social-media-check-lizzo-tiktok-b1080754.html |website=The Standard |access-date=8 February 2025}} In 2015, Reddit added an account suspension feature which they said would replace sitewide shadowbans, however, moderators are still able to shadowban users or their individual posts.{{cite web|last1=Shu|first1=Catherine|date=November 11, 2015|title=Reddit Replaces Its Confusing Shadowban System With Account Suspensions|url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/11/11/reddit-account-suspensions/|access-date=16 September 2017|website=TechCrunch|language=en}}

Reddit releases transparency reports annually which have information like how many posts have been taken down by moderators and for what reason. It also details information about requests law enforcement agencies have made for information about users or to take down content.{{cite web|title=Transparency|url=https://www.reddit.com/wiki/transparency|website=Reddit|access-date=February 17, 2021|archive-date=February 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216214443/https://www.reddit.com/wiki/transparency|url-status=live}} In 2020, Reddit removed 6% of posts made on the platform (approx. 233 million). More than 99% of removals were marked as spam; the remainder made up of a mix of other offensive content. Around 131 million posts were removed by the automated moderator and the rest were taken down manually.{{cite web |title=Transparency Report 2020 |url= https://www.redditinc.com/policies/transparency-report-2020 |website=www.redditinc.com |access-date=February 17, 2021 |archive-date=February 16, 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210216161613/https://www.redditinc.com/policies/transparency-report-2020 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |date=February 17, 2021 |title=Reddit removed 6% of all posts made last year |work=BBC News |url= https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56099232|access-date=February 17, 2021 |archive-date=February 17, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210217140529/https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56099232 |url-status=live}}

It is estimated that Reddit's moderators work 466 hours every day, which is $3.4 million in unpaid work each year. That roughly equates to 2.8% of the company's annual revenue.{{cite web |last=Stokel-Walker |first=Chris |title=Reddit moderators do $3.4 million worth of unpaid work each year |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2325828-reddit-moderators-do-3-4-million-worth-of-unpaid-work-each-year/ |website=New Scientist |language=en-US |access-date=June 24, 2022 |archive-date=June 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220624090649/https://www.newscientist.com/article/2325828-reddit-moderators-do-3-4-million-worth-of-unpaid-work-each-year/ |url-status=live }}

{{Redirect|r/|the letter "R"|R|other uses|/r/ (disambiguation)}}

File:American Chemical Society - What Chemists Do - Nathan Allen.webm about the r/science community, May 2015]]

Subreddits (officially called communities) are user-created areas of interest where discussions on Reddit are organized. There are about 138,000 active subreddits (among a total of 1.2 million) {{As of|2018|July|lc=y}}.{{cite news |last=Marotti |first=Ally |date=April 23, 2018 |title=Reddit to open Chicago office as part of advertising push |work=Chicago Tribune |publisher=R. Bruce Dold |location=Chicago |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-reddit-chicago-office-20180418-story.html |issn=2165-171X |oclc=60639020 |access-date=June 25, 2018 |archive-date=June 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614135257/http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-reddit-chicago-office-20180418-story.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=New subreddits by date (How Reddit grew over time) |url=http://redditmetrics.com/history |publisher=Redditmetrics.com |access-date=August 1, 2018 |archive-date=August 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809123515/https://redditmetrics.com/history |url-status=dead }} Subreddit names begin with "r/"; for instance, "r/science" is a community devoted to discussing scientific publications, while "r/gaming" is a community devoted to discussing video games, and "r/worldnews" is for posting news articles from around the world.

In a 2014 interview with Memeburn, Erik Martin, then the general manager of Reddit, remarked that their "approach is to give the community moderators or curators as much control as possible so that they can shape and cultivate the type of communities they want".{{Cite news |last=Atagana |first=Michelle |date=August 22, 2014 |title=Creating a more curious generation through memes: Q&A with Reddit GM |publisher=Memeburn.com |url=http://memeburn.com/2014/08/creating-a-curious-generation-through-memes-qa-with-reddit-gm/ |access-date=September 11, 2014 |archive-date=September 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140918100306/http://memeburn.com/2014/08/creating-a-curious-generation-through-memes-qa-with-reddit-gm/ |url-status=live }} Subreddits often use themed variants of Reddit's alien mascot, Snoo, in the visual styling of their communities.{{cite news |last=Klara |first=Robert |date=September 14, 2015 |title=How an Alien Doodle Became Reddit's Simple, Versatile Logo |work=Adweek |location=United States |url=https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/how-alien-doodle-became-reddits-simple-versatile-logo-166848/ |issn=0199-2864 |oclc=1001870403 |access-date=August 1, 2018 |archive-date=May 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503191425/http://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/how-alien-doodle-became-reddits-simple-versatile-logo-166848 |url-status=live }}

{{anchor|Reddit gold}}Reddit Premium (formerly Reddit Gold) is a premium membership that allows users to view the site ad-free. Until 2023, subscribers could also use coins to award posts or comments they valued, generally due to humorous or high-quality content.{{cite web |date=December 5, 2023 |title=Reddit is getting rid of its Gold awards system |url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/13/23794403/reddit-gold-awards-coins-sunset |publisher=The Verge |access-date=December 5, 2023 |archive-date=December 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231205223056/https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/13/23794403/reddit-gold-awards-coins-sunset |url-status=live }} Reddit Premium unlocks several features not accessible to regular users, such as comment highlighting, exclusive subreddits such as r/lounge, a personalized Snoo (known as a "snoovatar"), and a Reddit premium trophy that can be displayed on the user's profile.{{cite web |date=July 24, 2017 |title=What is Reddit Gold—and why do people keep giving it away? |url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/what-is-reddit-gold/ |website=The Daily Dot |access-date=September 15, 2017 |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111213527/https://www.dailydot.com/debug/what-is-reddit-gold/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |date=January 7, 2015 |title=Create your own reddit alien avatar with reddit gold |url=https://redditblog.com/2015/01/07/create-your-own-reddit-alien-avatar-with-reddit-gold/ |website=redditblog.com |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108103121/https://redditblog.com/2015/01/07/create-your-own-reddit-alien-avatar-with-reddit-gold/ |url-status=dead |access-date=November 4, 2017}} Reddit Gold was renamed to Reddit Premium in 2018. In addition to gold coins, users were able to gift silver and platinum coins to other users as rewards for quality content.{{cite news |last=Asarch |first=Steven |date=October 16, 2018 |title=Reddit Gold Update: How To Give And Get New Silver and Platinum Icons |work=Newsweek |url=https://www.newsweek.com/reddit-gold-silver-platinum-premium-how-get-awards-1172321 |access-date=November 12, 2018 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109033754/https://www.newsweek.com/reddit-gold-silver-platinum-premium-how-get-awards-1172321 |url-status=live }}

On the site, redditors commemorate their "cake day" once a year, on the anniversary of the day their account was created.{{cite web |last=Mick Statt |date=December 18, 2017 |title=Reddit overhauls mobile app with chat function and new moderation tools |url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/18/16788908/reddit-mobile-app-update-chat-mod-tools |access-date=May 17, 2018 |publisher=The Verge |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109040445/https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/18/16788908/reddit-mobile-app-update-chat-mod-tools |url-status=live }} Cake day adds an icon of a small slice of cake next to the user's name for 24 hours.{{cite web |title=Enjoy your complimentary karma |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/cakeday |access-date=August 8, 2014 |website=Reddit |archive-date=August 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813124126/http://www.reddit.com/r/cakeday |url-status=live }} In August 2021, the company introduced a TikTok-like short-form video feature for iOS that lets users rapidly swipe through a feed of short video content.{{cite web |last1=Roston |first1=Brittany |date=August 14, 2021 |title=Reddit is the latest social platform to launch a TikTok clone |url=https://www.slashgear.com/reddit-is-the-latest-social-platform-to-launch-a-tiktok-clone-14686702/ |access-date=August 27, 2021 |website=SlashGear |archive-date=August 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827205433/https://www.slashgear.com/reddit-is-the-latest-social-platform-to-launch-a-tiktok-clone-14686702/ |url-status=live }} In December 2021, the company introduced a Spotify Wrapped-like feature called Reddit Recap that recaps various statistics from January 1 to November 30 about each individual user, such as how much time they spent on Reddit, which communities they joined, and the topics that they engaged with, and allows the user to view it.{{cite web |last=Malik |first=Aisha |date=December 8, 2021 |title=Reddit to roll out personalized end-of-year recaps with stats about users' habits |url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/12/08/reddit-rolls-out-personalized-end-of-year-recaps-with-stats-about-users-habits/ |access-date=October 16, 2022 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US |archive-date=October 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016024846/https://techcrunch.com/2021/12/08/reddit-rolls-out-personalized-end-of-year-recaps-with-stats-about-users-habits/ |url-status=live }}

On July 7, 2022, Reddit announced "blockchain-backed Collectible Avatars", customizable avatars which are available on the subreddit r/CollectibleAvatars for purchase separate from Reddit Premium. The avatars were created by independent artists who post work on other subreddits, and who receive a portion of the profits. They use Reddit's Polygon blockchain-powered digital wallet the Vault.{{cite web |last=Reddit staff |date=July 7, 2022 |title=Blockchain-Backed Collectible Avatars Coming to Reddit via New Storefront |url=https://www.redditinc.com/blog/blockchain-backed-collectible-avatars-coming-to-reddit-via-new-storefront |access-date=July 13, 2022 |website=redditinc.com |archive-date=July 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220709203719/https://www.redditinc.com/blog/blockchain-backed-collectible-avatars-coming-to-reddit-via-new-storefront |url-status=live }} Richard Lawler of The Verge described them as "non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that are available for purchase in the Reddit Avatar Builder".{{Cite web |last=Richard |first=Lawler |date=July 7, 2022 |title=Reddit will sell 'Collectible Avatars,' and yes — they're NFTs |url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/7/23198071/reddit-nft-profile-picture-collectible-avatars |access-date=July 13, 2022 |website=The Verge |archive-date=July 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220712205059/https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/7/23198071/reddit-nft-profile-picture-collectible-avatars |url-status=live }}

In 2017, Reddit developed its own real-time chat software for the site.{{Cite news |last=Pardes |first=Arielle |date=July 18, 2018 |title=Reddit reinvents the chat room with community chat |magazine=Wired |location=United States |url=https://www.wired.com/story/reddit-introduces-subreddit-chat/ |access-date=August 1, 2018 |issn=1059-1028 |oclc=24479723 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109034905/https://www.wired.com/story/reddit-introduces-subreddit-chat/ |url-status=live }} While some established subreddits have used third-party software to chat about their communities, the company built chat functions that it hopes will become an integral part of Reddit. Individual chat rooms were rolled out in 2017 and community chat rooms for members of a given subreddit were rolled out in 2018.{{cite web |last=Sean Keane |date=July 19, 2018 |title=Reddit's chat rooms are bringing back fast-paced conversation |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/reddits-subreddit-chat-rooms-bring-back-fast-paced-conversation/ |publisher=CNET |access-date=August 1, 2018 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109031619/https://www.cnet.com/news/reddits-subreddit-chat-rooms-bring-back-fast-paced-conversation/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Roettgers |first=Janko |date=May 25, 2018 |title=Reddit Is Testing Community Chat Rooms to Take on Discord |work=Variety |location=United States |url=https://variety.com/2018/digital/news/reddit-community-chat-rooms-1202822388/ |issn=0042-2738 |oclc=810134503 |access-date=September 13, 2018 |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807011336/https://variety.com/2018/digital/news/reddit-community-chat-rooms-1202822388/ |url-status=live }}

Reddit Talk was announced in April 2021 as a competitor to Clubhouse. Reddit Talk lets subreddit moderators start audio meeting rooms that mimic Clubhouse in design.{{cite web |last1=Perez |first1=Sarah |title=Reddit unveils its Clubhouse clone Reddit Talk |url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/04/19/reddit-unveils-its-clubhouse-clone-reddit-talk/ |website=TechCrunch |date=April 19, 2021 |publisher=Verizon Media |access-date=August 27, 2021 |archive-date=August 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827205432/https://techcrunch.com/2021/04/19/reddit-unveils-its-clubhouse-clone-reddit-talk/ |url-status=live }} In 2022, Reddit Talk was updated to support recording audio rooms and work on the web version of Reddit. A desktop app is reportedly slated for a late February release.{{cite web |last1=Roth |first1=Emma |title=Reddit's Clubhouse clone gets recordings and web support |url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/9/22925935/reddit-clubhouse-clone-recordings-web-features |website=The Verge |publisher=Vox Media |date=February 9, 2022 |access-date=February 10, 2022 |archive-date=February 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210000801/https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/9/22925935/reddit-clubhouse-clone-recordings-web-features |url-status=live }}

Reddit acquired MeaningCloud, a natural language processing company in June 2022.{{cite web |date=July 2022 |title=Reddit acquires natural language processing company MeaningCloud |url=https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/01/reddit-acquires-natural-language-processing-company-meaningcloud/ |access-date=July 18, 2022 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US |archive-date=July 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220718181106/https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/01/reddit-acquires-natural-language-processing-company-meaningcloud/ |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |date=July 11, 2022 |title=Reddit Buys Natural Language Processing Startup MeaningCloud to Boost Product & Advertising |url=https://voicebot.ai/2022/07/11/reddit-buys-natural-language-processing-startup-meaningcloud-to-boost-product-advertising/ |website=Voicebot.ai |language=en-US |access-date=July 18, 2022 |archive-date=July 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220712122631/https://voicebot.ai/2022/07/11/reddit-buys-natural-language-processing-startup-meaningcloud-to-boost-product-advertising/ |url-status=live }} In February 2024, Reddit announced a partnership with Google in a deal worth about $60{{nbsp}}million per year, to license its real-time user content to train Google's AI model. The partnership also lets Reddit get access to Google's "Vertex AI" service which would help improve search results on Reddit.{{Cite web |last=Roth |first=Emma |date=February 22, 2024 |title=Google cut a deal with Reddit for AI training data |url=https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/22/24080165/google-reddit-ai-training-data |website=The Verge |access-date=February 23, 2024 |archive-date=February 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240223071030/https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/22/24080165/google-reddit-ai-training-data |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Hamilton |first=David |date=February 22, 2024 |title=Reddit strikes $60M deal allowing Google to train AI models on its posts, unveils IPO plans |url= https://apnews.com/article/google-reddit-ai-partnership-a7f131c7cb4225307134ef21d3c6a708 |work=AP News |access-date=February 23, 2024 |archive-date=February 23, 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240223071030/https://apnews.com/article/google-reddit-ai-partnership-a7f131c7cb4225307134ef21d3c6a708 |url-status=live }} It was announced that Reddit and OpenAI had reached a deal that will allow OpenAI access to the Reddit API to train its models, while Reddit will receive certain AI tools for moderators and users.[https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/16/reddit-soars-after-announcing-openai-deal-on-ai-training-models.html?taid=6646d65a8e50de00014a3159 cnbc article] In December 2024, Reddit announced Reddit Answers, an AI search tool that summarizes conversations in response to a question from the user.{{Cite web |last=Haner |first=Joanne |date=2024-12-09 |title=Reddit rolls out AI search feature |url=https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5030136-reddit-rolls-out-ai-search-feature/ |access-date=2024-12-09 |website=The Hill |language=en-US}}

{{anchor|RPAN|Reddit Public Access Network}}

Reddit Public Access Network, commonly known as RPAN, was a live streaming service run by Reddit. Viewers interacted with streams by upvoting or downvoting, chatting, and giving paid awards. During the off-air hours, 24/7 streaming was possible to the dedicated subreddits, but with limited slots and capabilities.{{cite web|title=When is RPAN ON-AIR? r/pan|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/pan/wiki/index#wiki_when_is_rpan_on-air.3F|website=reddit|date=December 8, 2020|access-date=September 2, 2022|archive-date=September 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220902092618/https://www.reddit.com/r/pan/wiki/index#wiki_when_is_rpan_on-air.3F|url-status=live}} On August 19, 2019, Reddit announced RPAN. It was said to be in testing, but they were experimenting with making it a permanent program, as well as a way to increase revenue for the platform.{{cite magazine |title=Reddit Now Lets You Livestream. What Could Go Wrong? |language=en |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/story/reddit-livestreaming-rpan/ |issn=1059-1028 |access-date=March 11, 2020 |archive-date=March 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200307062026/https://www.wired.com/story/reddit-livestreaming-rpan/ |url-status=live }} Later, a five-day testing period began. During the testing period, streaming was for a select group of users, allowing 30 minutes of streaming per person and 100 slots.{{cite web |last=Hautala |first=Laura |title=Reddit tests out livestreaming feature called Public Access Network |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/reddit-offers-temporary-livestreaming-feature-with-public-access-network/ |website=CNET |language=en |access-date=March 11, 2020 |archive-date=April 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426195437/https://www.cnet.com/news/reddit-offers-temporary-livestreaming-feature-with-public-access-network/ |url-status=live }} On July 1, 2020, RPAN Studio was released, an application that allows users to broadcast live from desktop computers. RPAN Studio has been built on top of OBS, an open-source streaming and recording program.{{cite web |title=r/RPANStudio – You want a desktop streaming solution, you got it. Introducing RPAN Studio. |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/RPANStudio/comments/hjimlq/you_want_a_desktop_streaming_solution_you_got_it/ |website=reddit |date=July 2020 |language=en-US |access-date=August 23, 2020 |archive-date=November 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115080111/https://www.reddit.com/r/RPANStudio/comments/hjimlq/you_want_a_desktop_streaming_solution_you_got_it/ |url-status=live }} On January 28, 2021, Reddit permanently increased streaming times to three hours.{{cite web |date=January 28, 2021 |title=Stream times are now 3 hours! |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/pan/comments/l6q4qm/stream_times_are_now_3_hours/ |access-date=March 3, 2021 |archive-date=January 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128064408/https://www.reddit.com/r/pan/comments/l6q4qm/stream_times_are_now_3_hours/ |url-status=live }} RPAN was officially discontinued on November 15, 2022.{{Cite web |title=Reddit |date=November 3, 2022 |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/pan/comments/yl5zzd/update_on_the_future_of_live_video_broadcasting/ |access-date=December 8, 2022 |archive-date=December 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229143820/https://www.reddit.com/r/pan/comments/yl5zzd/update_on_the_future_of_live_video_broadcasting/ |url-status=live }}

In 2019, Reddit tested a new feature that allowed users to tip others. It was only made available for a user named Chris who goes by the alias u/shittymorph, who was known for posting well-written comments, only for them to end with the same copypasta referencing the 1998 Hell in a Cell match between wrestlers The Undertaker and Mankind.{{cite web |last=Kooser |first=Amanda |title=Hell in a Cell: The surprising story behind the Reddit meme |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/reddit-memes-hell-in-a-cell/ |website=CNET |language=en |access-date=June 12, 2020 |archive-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614110323/https://www.cnet.com/news/reddit-memes-hell-in-a-cell/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Liao |first=Shannon |date=February 28, 2019 |title=Reddit is letting users tip real money — to one guy in one subreddit |url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/28/18244901/reddit-tipping-feature-test-user-shittymorph-money |website=The Verge |language=en |access-date=June 12, 2020 |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111220940/https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/28/18244901/reddit-tipping-feature-test-user-shittymorph-money |url-status=live }}

Reddit's search function has had many iterations and currently uses Lucidworks Fusion to implementation.{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Ron |date=September 7, 2017 |title=Reddit teams with Lucidworks to build new search framework |url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/07/reddit-builds-brand-new-search-framework-with-lucidworks/ |access-date=June 15, 2023 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US |archive-date=April 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430031944/https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/07/reddit-builds-brand-new-search-framework-with-lucidworks/ |url-status=live}}

In 2010, Reddit released its first mobile web interface for easier reading and navigating the website on touch screen devices.{{cite news |last=Siegler |first=MG |date=June 9, 2010 |title=Reddit Finally Becomes Usable On The Mobile Web — Cause They Hate The App Store |work=TechCrunch |url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/06/09/reddit-mobile/ |access-date=May 25, 2018 |archive-date=January 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121236/https://techcrunch.com/2010/06/09/reddit-mobile/ |url-status=live }} For several years, redditors relied on third-party apps to access Reddit on mobile devices. In October 2014, Reddit acquired one of them, Alien Blue, which became the official iOS Reddit app.{{cite web |last=Kumparak |first=Greg |date=October 15, 2014 |title=Reddit Acquires Alien Blue, The Most Popular Unofficial Reddit App |url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/10/15/reddit-acquires-alien-blue-the-most-popular-unofficial-reddit-app/ |access-date=October 25, 2014 |website=TechCrunch |publisher=AOL |archive-date=October 24, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024200144/http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/15/reddit-acquires-alien-blue-the-most-popular-unofficial-reddit-app/ |url-status=live }} Reddit removed Alien Blue and released its official application, Reddit: The Official App, on Google Play and the iOS App Store in April 2016.[https://venturebeat.com/2016/04/07/reddit-scraps-alien-blue-in-favor-of-in-house-built-ios-and-android-apps/ Reddit scraps Alien Blue in favor of in-house built iOS and Android apps] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108095756/http://venturebeat.com/2016/04/07/reddit-scraps-alien-blue-in-favor-of-in-house-built-ios-and-android-apps/ |date=November 8, 2020 }} April 2016 The company released an app for Reddit's question-and-answer Ask Me Anything subreddit in 2014.{{cite web |last=Spradlin |first=Liam |date=September 3, 2014 |title=Reddit's Official Ask Me Anything App Hits The Play Store As Promised |url=https://www.androidpolice.com/2014/09/03/reddits-official-ask-me-anything-app-hits-the-play-store-as-promised/ |access-date=May 25, 2018 |website=Android Police |archive-date=December 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209130058/http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/09/03/reddits-official-ask-me-anything-app-hits-the-play-store-as-promised/ |url-status=live }} The app allowed users to see active Ask Me Anythings, receive notifications, ask questions and vote.

File:Reddit screenshot 2005.png

The site has undergone several products and design changes since it originally launched in 2005. When it initially launched, there were no comments or subreddits. Comments were added in 2005{{cite web |last=Steve Huffman |author-link=Steve Huffman |date=December 12, 2005 |title=blog.reddit – what's new on reddit: comments! |url=http://www.redditblog.com/2005/12/comments.html |access-date=May 24, 2015 |newspaper=Redditblog.com |archive-date=May 25, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525074636/http://www.redditblog.com/2005/12/comments.html |url-status=live }} and interest-based groups (called 'subreddits') were introduced in 2008.{{Cite news |last=Vanhemert |first=Kyle |date=January 9, 2014 |title=Fascinating graphs show how Reddit got huge by going mainstream |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/2014/01/the-gentrification-of-reddit-in-a-few-great-graphs/ |access-date=May 17, 2018 |archive-date=April 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403010039/https://www.wired.com/2014/01/the-gentrification-of-reddit-in-a-few-great-graphs/ |url-status=live }} Allowing users to create subreddits has led to much of the activity that redditors would recognize that helped define Reddit. These include subreddits "WTF", "funny", and "AskReddit". Reddit rolled out its multireddit feature, the site's biggest change to its front page in years, in 2013.{{cite web |last=Cheredar |first=Tom |date=July 23, 2013 |title=Reddit rolls out its front page-changing multireddit feature to the public |url=https://venturebeat.com/2013/07/23/reddit-multireddit-feature/ |access-date=May 25, 2018 |website=VentureBeat |archive-date=May 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518101214/https://venturebeat.com/2013/07/23/reddit-multireddit-feature/ |url-status=live }} With the multireddits, users see top stories from a collection of subreddits.

In 2015, Reddit enabled embedding and as a result users could share Reddit content on other sites.{{Cite news |last=Fingas |first=Jon |date=March 24, 2015 |title=Reddit now lets you embed comments on other websites |work=Engadget |url=https://www.engadget.com/2015/03/24/reddit-comment-embeds/ |access-date=May 17, 2018 |archive-date=January 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119174234/https://www.engadget.com/2015/03/24/reddit-comment-embeds/ |url-status=live }} In 2016, Reddit began hosting images using a new image uploading tool, a move that shifted away from the uploading service Imgur that had been the de facto service.{{Cite news |last=Toor |first=Amar |date=May 26, 2016 |title=Reddit moves away from Imgur with new photo-uploading tool |work=The Verge |url=https://www.theverge.com/2016/5/26/11782608/reddit-imgur-image-upload-beta |access-date=May 17, 2018 |archive-date=October 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016104510/https://www.theverge.com/2016/5/26/11782608/reddit-imgur-image-upload-beta |url-status=live }} Users still can upload images to Reddit using Imgur. Reddit's in-house video uploading service for desktop and mobile launched in 2017.{{Cite news |last=Perez |first=Sarah |date=August 17, 2017 |title=Reddit rolls out its own video platform |work=TechCrunch |url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/17/reddit-rolls-out-its-own-video-platform/ |access-date=May 17, 2018 |archive-date=July 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725040505/https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/17/reddit-rolls-out-its-own-video-platform/ |url-status=live }} Previously, users had to use third-party video uploading services, which Reddit acknowledged was time-consuming for users.

Reddit released its "spoiler tags" feature in January 2017.{{Cite news |last=Mejia |first=Zameena |date=March 28, 2017 |title=The hidden benefit of Twitter's hate-speech controls: avoiding TV spoilers |work=Quartz |url=https://qz.com/943344/twitter-hate-speech-controls-can-help-you-avoid-tv-spoilers/ |access-date=May 25, 2018 |archive-date=November 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114000821/https://qz.com/943344/twitter-hate-speech-controls-can-help-you-avoid-tv-spoilers/ |url-status=live }} The feature warns users of potential spoilers in posts and pixelates preview images. Reddit unveiled changes to its public front page, called r/popular, in 2017; the change creates a front page free of potentially adult-oriented content for unregistered users. In late 2017, Reddit declared it wanted to be a mobile-first site, launching several changes to its apps for iOS and Android. The new features included user-to-user chat, a theater mode for viewing visual content, and mobile tools for the site's moderators. "Mod mode" lets moderators manage content and their subreddits on mobile devices.

Reddit launched its redesigned website in 2018, with its first major visual update in a decade. Development for the new site took more than a year. It was the result of an initiative by Huffman upon returning to Reddit, who said the site's outdated look deterred new users. The new site features a hamburger menu to help users navigate the site, different views, and new fonts to better inform redditors if they are clicking on a Reddit post or an external link. The nominal goal was not only for Reddit to improve its appearance, but also to make it easier to accommodate a new generation of Reddit users. Additionally Reddit's growth had strained the site's back end;{{Cite news |last=Loten |first=Angus |date=April 10, 2018 |title=Reddit CEO revamped outdated website from the IT foundations |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2018/04/10/reddit-ceo-revamped-outdated-website-from-the-it-foundations/ |access-date=May 17, 2018 |archive-date=May 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503043307/https://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2018/04/10/reddit-ceo-revamped-outdated-website-from-the-it-foundations/ |url-status=live }} Huffman and Reddit Vice President of Engineering Nick Caldwell told The Wall Street Journal{{'}}s COI Journal that Reddit needed to leverage artificial intelligence and other modern digital tools. For years, registered users could opt-out of the redesign by using the old.reddit.com domain.{{cite web |title=The lifecycle of a redesign: Making Reddit more welcoming | Inside Design Blog |url=https://www.invisionapp.com/inside-design/reddit-redesign/ |website=www.invisionapp.com |access-date=May 11, 2020 |archive-date=June 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602015017/https://www.invisionapp.com/inside-design/reddit-redesign/ |url-status=live }} On May 15, 2024, the dedicated login flow was removed from the old domain, although site admins said they had "no plans" to remove the old domain entirely.{{cite web |title=Changes to old Reddit login flow |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/help/comments/1cssv6w/changes_to_old_reddit_login_flow/ |website=Reddit |access-date=August 19, 2024 |date=May 15, 2024}}

In November 2023, Fast Company reported that Reddit began rolling out a comprehensive rebrand, including a new logo, typeface, brand colors, and an updated version of its mascot Snoo, as part of its preparation for a potential 2024 IPO and in response to its expanding user base and global reach.{{Cite web |last=Petit |first=Zachary |date=November 29, 2023 |title=Reddit just got a fancy, new rebrand from Pentagram. Will it get an upvote? (exclusive) |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90989375/reddit-just-got-a-big-new-rebrand-from-pentagram-will-it-get-an-upvote-exclusive |website=Fast Company |access-date=December 4, 2023 |archive-date=December 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204164458/https://www.fastcompany.com/90989375/reddit-just-got-a-big-new-rebrand-from-pentagram-will-it-get-an-upvote-exclusive |url-status=live }}

File:Reddit Old.svg

File:Reddit Logo Icon.svg

Reddit's logo consists of a time-traveling alien named Snoo and the company name stylized as "reddit". The alien has an oval head, pom-pom ears, and an antenna.{{Cite news |last=Pardes |first=Rielle |date=July 6, 2018 |title=The Transformative Power of Reddit's Alien Mascot |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/story/the-transformative-power-of-reddits-alien-mascot/ |access-date=October 24, 2018 |archive-date=July 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726170202/https://www.wired.com/story/the-transformative-power-of-reddits-alien-mascot/ |url-status=live }} Its colors are black, white, and orange-red. The mascot was created in 2005 while company co-founder Alexis Ohanian was an undergraduate at the University of Virginia. Ohanian drew a doodle of the creature while he was bored during a marketing class. Originally, Ohanian sought to name the mascot S'new, a play on "What's new?", to tie the mascot into Reddit's premise as the "front page of the Internet". Eventually, the name Snoo was chosen. In 2011, Ohanian outlined the logo's evolution with a graphic that showcased several early versions, including various spellings of the website name, such as "Reditt".{{Cite news |last=Morris |first=Kevin |date=August 11, 2011 |title=How Reddit's alien landed |work=The Daily Dot |url=https://www.dailydot.com/news/reddits-logo-origin-revealed/ |access-date=October 24, 2018 |archive-date=February 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202153858/https://www.dailydot.com/news/reddits-logo-origin-revealed/ |url-status=live }}

Snoo is genderless, so the logo is moldable.{{Cite news |last1=Bond |first1=John-Michael |last2=Powell |first2=Austin |date=January 27, 2021 |title=TIL 30 interesting facts about Reddit |work=The Daily Dot |url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/reddit-history/ |access-date=February 2, 2019 |archive-date=February 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202213616/https://www.dailydot.com/debug/reddit-history/ |url-status=live }} Over the years, the Reddit logo has frequently changed for holidays and other special events. Many subreddits have a customized Snoo logo to represent the subreddit. Redditors can also submit their own logos, which sometimes appear on the site's front page, or create their own customized versions of Snoo for their communities (or "subreddits"). When Reddit revamped its website in April 2018, the company imposed several restrictions on how Snoo can be designed: Snoo's head "should always appear blank or neutral", Snoo's eyes are orange-red, and Snoo cannot have fingers. Snoo's purpose is to discover and explore humanity.

File:1455marketstreet.jpg neighborhood of San Francisco, February 2021]]

Reddit is a public company based in San Francisco.{{Cite news |last=Spector |first=Nicole |date=December 4, 2017 |title=Hipster internet favorite Reddit may have to lose its edge to go public |work=NBC News |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/hipster-internet-favorite-reddit-may-have-lose-its-edge-go-n824866 |access-date=June 25, 2018 |archive-date=December 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204193305/https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/hipster-internet-favorite-reddit-may-have-lose-its-edge-go-n824866 |url-status=live }} In 2023, it downsized from an office in the Mid-Market neighborhood{{Cite news |last=Li |first=Roland |date=October 2, 2019 |title=Reddit moving headquarters to SF's Mid-Market, joining Uber and Square |work=San Francisco Chronicle |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Reddit-leases-office-in-SF-s-Mid-Market-14487015.php |access-date=November 26, 2022 |archive-date=November 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221125192642/https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Reddit-leases-office-in-SF-s-Mid-Market-14487015.php |url-status=live }} to an office in the South of Market neighborhood.{{Cite web |last=Li |first=Roland |date=March 17, 2023 |title=Reddit is leaving San Francisco's Mid-Market neighborhood |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/tech/article/reddit-leaving-s-f-s-mid-market-neighborhood-17845964.php}} Reddit doubled its headcount in 2017;{{Cite news |last=Hess |first=Abigail |date=January 29, 2018 |title=How to land a job at Reddit |work=CNBC |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/29/how-to-land-a-job-at-reddit.html |access-date=June 25, 2018 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109023602/https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/29/how-to-land-a-job-at-reddit.html |url-status=live }} {{as of|2018|lc=yes}}, it employed approximately 350 people. In 2017, the company was valued at $1.8 billion during a $200 million round of new venture funding.{{cite web |last=Wagner |first=Kurt |date=July 31, 2017 |title=Reddit raised $200 million in funding and is now valued at $1.8 billion |url=https://www.vox.com/2017/7/31/16037126/reddit-funding-200-million-valuation-steve-huffman-alexis-ohanian |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112035457/https://www.vox.com/2017/7/31/16037126/reddit-funding-200-million-valuation-steve-huffman-alexis-ohanian |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |access-date=August 5, 2017 |website=Recode}} The company was previously owned by Condé Nast, but was spun off as an independent company. {{As of|2018|4|df=US}}, Advance Publications, Condé Nast's parent company, retained a majority stake in Reddit.

Reddit's key management personnel includes co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman, Chief Technology Officer Chris Slowe, who was the company's original lead engineer, and Chief Operating Officer Jen Wong, a former president of digital and chief operating officer at Time Inc.{{Cite news |last=Trachtenberg |first=Jeffrey |date=April 19, 2018 |title=Reddit taps Time Inc. veteran Jen Wong as its COO |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/reddit-taps-time-inc-veteran-jen-wong-as-its-coo-1524153600 |access-date=June 25, 2018 |archive-date=August 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815110905/https://www.wsj.com/articles/reddit-taps-time-inc-veteran-jen-wong-as-its-coo-1524153600 |url-status=live }} Reddit does not disclose its revenue figures. The company generates revenue in part through advertising and premium memberships that remove ads from the site. As part of its company culture, Reddit operates on a no-negotiation policy for employee salaries.{{cite web |url=https://www.siliconrepublic.com/people/katelin-holloway-reddit-pixar-hr |title=From Pixar to people: How katelin Holloway's career brought her to Reddit |author=Jenny Darmody |date=December 11, 2017 |publisher=Silicon Republic |access-date=June 25, 2018 |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806175509/https://www.siliconrepublic.com/people/katelin-holloway-reddit-pixar-hr |url-status=live }} The company offers new mothers, fathers, and adoptive parents up to 16 weeks of parental leave.{{cite news |title=Reddit co-founder is latest tech executive to take parental leave |last1=Tsukayama |first1=Hayley |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/09/05/reddit-co-founder-is-latest-tech-executive-to-make-a-public-stand-for-parental-leave/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=September 5, 2017 |access-date=June 25, 2018 |archive-date=June 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605075936/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/09/05/reddit-co-founder-is-latest-tech-executive-to-make-a-public-stand-for-parental-leave/ |url-status=live }}

Reddit launched two different ways of advertising on the site in 2009. The company launched sponsored content{{cite news |last=Kafka |first=Peter |date=March 27, 2009 |title=Reddit's Ad Experiment Is Good News for Condé Nast. Maybe for Digg, Too |url=http://allthingsd.com/20090327/reddits-ad-experiment-is-good-news-for-conde-nast-maybe-for-digg-too/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121004/http://allthingsd.com/20090327/reddits-ad-experiment-is-good-news-for-conde-nast-maybe-for-digg-too/ |archive-date=January 19, 2019 |access-date=May 25, 2018 |work=All Things Digital}} and a self-serve ads platform that year.{{cite news |last=Siegler |first=MG |date=November 12, 2009 |title=Reddit opens its homepage to anyone willing to pay (invites) |url=https://techcrunch.com/2009/11/12/reddit-advertising/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219233424/https://techcrunch.com/2009/11/12/reddit-advertising/ |archive-date=December 19, 2018 |access-date=May 25, 2018 |publisher=TechCrunch}} Reddit launched its Reddit Gold benefits program in July 2010, which offered new features to editors and created a new revenue stream for the business that did not rely on banner ads.{{cite news |last=Shu |first=Catherine |date=June 12, 2013 |title=Reddit Adds Benefits For Gold Members To Further Monetize The Site Without More Ads |url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/06/11/reddit-gold-benefits/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121104/https://techcrunch.com/2013/06/11/reddit-gold-benefits/ |archive-date=January 19, 2019 |access-date=May 16, 2018 |work=TechCrunch}} On September 6, 2011, Reddit became operationally independent of Condé Nast, operating as a separate subsidiary of its parent company, Advance Publications.{{cite web |title=blog.reddit – what's new online: Independence |url=https://redditblog.com/2011/09/independence.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722135119/http://www.redditblog.com/2011/09/independence.html |archive-date=July 22, 2016 |access-date=September 6, 2011}}

Reddit's users tend to be more privacy-conscious than on other websites, often using tools like ad-blocking software and proxies,{{cite web |url=http://www.geomarketing.com/reddits-safe-play-in-the-game-of-geo-targeting |title=Reddit's Safe Play in the Game of Geo-Targeting |author=Nicole Spector |date=June 18, 2014 |access-date=July 6, 2015 |archive-date=July 21, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721014114/http://www.geomarketing.com/reddits-safe-play-in-the-game-of-geo-targeting |url-status=dead }} and they dislike "feeling manipulated by brands" but respond well to "content that begs for intelligent viewers and participants."{{cite web |url=http://strategyonline.ca/2014/06/05/reddit-knows-new-study-reveals-what-canadians-want/ |title=Reddit knows: new study reveals what Canadians want |website=StrategyOnline.ca |date=June 5, 2014 |author=Megan Haynes |access-date=July 6, 2015 |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305011803/http://strategyonline.ca/2014/06/05/reddit-knows-new-study-reveals-what-canadians-want/ |url-status=live }} Lauren Orsini writes in ReadWrite that "Reddit's huge community is the perfect hype machine for promoting a new movie, a product release, or a lagging political campaign" but there is a "very specific set of etiquette. Redditors don't want to advertise for you, they want to talk to you."{{cite web |url=http://readwrite.com/2014/09/24/how-to-host-a-reddit-ama |title=Let your audience ask you anything |website=ReadWrite |date=September 24, 2014 |access-date=July 6, 2015 |archive-date=July 5, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705131755/http://readwrite.com/2014/09/24/how-to-host-a-reddit-ama |url-status=live }} Journalists have used the site as a basis for stories, though they are advised by the site's policies to respect that "reddit's communities belong to their members" and to seek proper attribution for people's contributions.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWFkKHHdaAw |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131107113340/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWFkKHHdaAw&gl=US&hl=en |archive-date=November 7, 2013 |title=Reddit – the front page of the internet: New user behaviour and social media trends |website=BBC Academy: Journalism |publisher=BBC via YouTube |date=November 7, 2013}}

Reddit announced that they would begin using VigLink to redirect affiliate links in June 2016.{{cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/4mv578/affiliate_links_on_reddit/|title=r/announcements – Affiliate links on Reddit|website=reddit|date=June 6, 2016|access-date=June 7, 2016|archive-date=June 7, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160607052528/https://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/4mv578/affiliate_links_on_reddit/|url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=Reddit begins trialling affiliate links across the site |last1=Woollaston |first1=Victoria |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/reddit-introduces-affiliate-links |magazine=Wired |date=June 7, 2016 |access-date=May 31, 2019 |archive-date=March 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322203230/https://www.wired.co.uk/article/reddit-introduces-affiliate-links |url-status=live }} Since 2017, Reddit has partnered with companies to host sponsored AMAs and other interactive events,{{cite news |title=Audi's Reddit 'Ask Me Anything' with Elizabeth Goes 130 MPH |last1=Schultz |first1=E.J. |url=https://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/audi-s-elizabeth-banks-reddit-130-mph/310614/ |work=Ad Age |date=September 25, 2017 |access-date=October 9, 2018 |archive-date=June 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630155140/http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/audi-s-elizabeth-banks-reddit-130-mph/310614/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Reddit holding its own 'Twitch Plays' game, featuring a tiny robot and several subreddits |last1=Alexander |first1=Julia |url=https://www.polygon.com/2017/11/14/16637688/reddit-cozmo-escape-room-twitch |work=Polygon |date=November 14, 2017 |access-date=October 9, 2018 |archive-date=May 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514165423/https://www.polygon.com/2017/11/14/16637688/reddit-cozmo-escape-room-twitch |url-status=live }} increased advertising offerings,{{cite news |title=Reddit — one of the world's most popular websites — is trying to cash in through advertising |last1=Castillo |first1=Michelle |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/29/how-reddit-plans-to-make-money-through-advertising.html |work=CNBC |date=July 5, 2018 |access-date=June 4, 2019 |archive-date=June 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190628004028/https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/29/how-reddit-plans-to-make-money-through-advertising.html |url-status=live }} and introduced efforts to work with content publishers.{{cite news |title=The Washington Post Gets Its Own Reddit Page |last1=Sloane |first1=Garett |url=https://adage.com/article/digital/washington-post-publishers-a-reddit-page/309165 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 25, 2017 |access-date=June 4, 2019 |archive-date=December 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211083925/https://adage.com/article/digital/washington-post-publishers-a-reddit-page/309165 |url-status=live }}

In 2018, Reddit hired Jen Wong as COO, responsible for the company's business strategy and growth, and introduced native mobile ads. Reddit opened a Chicago office to be closer to major companies and advertising agencies located in and around Chicago. In 2019, Reddit hired former Twitter ad director Shariq Rizvi as its vice president of ad products and engineering.{{cite news |title=Reddit hires former Twitter ad team director as VP of ad products, engineering |last1=Gesenhues |first1=Amy |url=https://marketingland.com/reddit-hires-former-twitter-ad-team-director-as-vp-of-ad-products-engineering-254966 |work=Marketing Land |date=January 9, 2019 |access-date=May 31, 2019 |archive-date=June 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603183559/https://marketingland.com/reddit-hires-former-twitter-ad-team-director-as-vp-of-ad-products-engineering-254966 |url-status=live }}

The website is known for its open nature and diverse user community that generate its content. Its demographics allows for wide-ranging subject areas, as well as the ability for smaller subreddits to serve more niche purposes. The user base of Reddit has given birth to other websites, including image sharing community and image host Imgur, which started in 2009 as a gift to Reddit's community.{{cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/7zlyd/my_gift_to_reddit_i_created_an_image_hosting/|title=My Gift to Reddit: I created an image hosting service that doesn't suck. What do you think?|first=Alan|last=Schaaf|website=Reddit|date=February 23, 2009|access-date=April 9, 2013|archive-date=November 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191125162300/https://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/7zlyd/my_gift_to_reddit_i_created_an_image_hosting/|url-status=live}} In its first five months, it jumped from a thousand hits per day to a million total page views.{{cite web|url=http://allthingsd.com/20120515/interview-imgurs-path-to-1-billion-image-views-per-day/|title=Interview: Imgur's Path to a Billion Image Views Per Day – Liz Gannes – Social – AllThingsD|website=AllThingsD|access-date=December 3, 2016|archive-date=July 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702182439/http://allthingsd.com/20120515/interview-imgurs-path-to-1-billion-image-views-per-day/|url-status=live}} Data collected by Pew Research Center in 2013 found that Reddit users were much more likely to be from urban communities than rural ones.{{cite web | last=Kamenetz | first=Anya | title=The Secrets of Reddit: Highlights From The Pew Report | website=Fast Company | date=July 3, 2013 | url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3013878/the-secrets-of-reddit-highlights-from-the-pew-report | access-date=June 3, 2024 | archive-date=June 27, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240627043350/https://www.fastcompany.com/3013878/the-secrets-of-reddit-highlights-from-the-pew-report | url-status=live }} Women were greatly under-represented on the website. Reddit's userbase had a disproportionately high number of Hispanic users. With regards to education, high school dropouts were over-represented among Reddit users.

Reddit has been noted for its role in political activism, with notable left-wing and anti-theist subcultures on the website.{{Cite web |last=Lopez |first=German |date=February 11, 2015 |title=Chapel Hill shooting forces uncomfortable conversations among Reddit's atheists |url=https://www.vox.com/2015/2/11/8019729/chapel-hill-shooting-atheism |access-date=December 9, 2024 |website=Vox |language=en-US}} Statistics from Google Ad Planner suggest that 74% of Reddit users are male.{{cite web|url=https://huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/20/social-media-by-gender-women-pinterest-men-reddit-infographic_n_1613812.html|title=Social Media By Gender: Women Dominate Pinterest, Twitter, Men Dominate Reddit, YouTube (INFOGRAPHIC)|date=June 21, 2012|access-date=April 17, 2017|via=Huff Post|archive-date=August 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830032744/https://huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/20/social-media-by-gender-women-pinterest-men-reddit-infographic_n_1613812.html|url-status=live}} In 2016, the Pew Research Center published research showing that 4% of U.S. adults use Reddit, of which 67% are men, while 78% of users get news from Reddit.{{cite web |url=http://www.journalism.org/2016/02/25/reddit-news-users-more-likely-to-be-male-young-and-digital-in-their-news-preferences/ |title=Seven-in-Ten Reddit Users Get News on the Site |last1=Barthel |first1=Michael |last2=Stoking |first2=Galen |last3=Holcomb |first3=Jesse |last4=Mitchell |first4=Amy |quote=While just 4% of U.S. adults report using Reddit, about seven-in-ten of these users (78%) get news on the site. |date=February 25, 2016 |publisher=Pew Research Center |access-date=May 28, 2017 |archive-date=June 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170602133711/http://www.journalism.org/2016/02/25/reddit-news-users-more-likely-to-be-male-young-and-digital-in-their-news-preferences/ |url-status=live }} Users tend to be significantly younger than average with less than 1% of users being 65 or over. Politically, 43% of Reddit users surveyed by Pew Research Center in 2016 identified as liberal, with 38% identifying as moderate and 19% as conservative.{{cite web |last1=Barthel |first1=Michael |last2=Stocking |first2=Galen |last3=Holcomb |first3=Jesse |last4=Mitchell |first4=Amy |title=1. Reddit news users more likely to be male, young and digital in their news preferences |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2016/02/25/reddit-news-users-more-likely-to-be-male-young-and-digital-in-their-news-preferences/ |publisher=Pew Research Center |access-date=August 19, 2024 |date=February 25, 2016}}

Reddit is known in part for its passionate user base, which has been described as "offbeat, quirky, and anti-establishment". Similar to the "Slashdot effect", the Reddit effect occurs when a smaller website crashes due to a high influx of traffic after being linked to on Reddit; this is also called the Reddit "hug of death".{{cite web|url=http://blogs.abc.net.au/newseditors/2012/08/the-reddit-effect.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101224936/http://blogs.abc.net.au/newseditors/2012/08/the-reddit-effect.html|title=The Reddit effect |author=abc blog |publisher=ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) |date=August 31, 2012 |access-date=October 1, 2013|archive-date=November 1, 2014}}{{cite news |title=Reddit holds the secret to fixing Facebook |last1=Lee |first1=Dave |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-43383766 |work=BBC News |date=March 14, 2018 |access-date=September 11, 2018 |archive-date=September 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180908002821/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-43383766 |url-status=live }}

{{See also|Digital citizen|Netizen|Online social movement}}

Users have used Reddit as a platform for their charitable and philanthropic efforts.{{cite web |url=https://www.dailydot.com/society/reddit-charity-alexis-ohanian-list/ |title=How Reddit saved the world |author=Kevin Morris |date=December 11, 2015 |work=The Daily Dot |access-date=September 12, 2018 |archive-date=October 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019205445/https://www.dailydot.com/society/reddit-charity-alexis-ohanian-list/ |url-status=live }} Redditors raised more than $100,000 for charity in support of comedians Jon Stewart's and Stephen Colbert's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear; more than $180,000 for Haiti earthquake relief efforts; and delivered food pantries' Amazon wish lists.{{cite news|last=meganfriedman|date=September 14, 2010|title=Reddit Campaign for Colbert Rally Breaks Donation Record|language=en-US|magazine=Time|url=https://newsfeed.time.com/2010/09/14/reddit-campaign-for-colbert-rally-breaks-charity-records/|issn=0040-781X|access-date=April 18, 2021|archive-date=May 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230507232323/https://newsfeed.time.com/2010/09/14/reddit-campaign-for-colbert-rally-breaks-charity-records/|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.bigissue.com/latest/food/reddits-global-foodbank-is-delivering-amazon-wish-lists-to-the-hungry/ |title=Reddit's global food bank is delivering Amazon wish lists to the hungry |author=Ben Sullivan |date=May 8, 2018 |work=The Big Issue |access-date=September 12, 2018 |archive-date=May 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180508183731/https://www.bigissue.com/latest/food/reddits-global-foodbank-is-delivering-amazon-wish-lists-to-the-hungry/ |url-status=live }} In 2010, Christians, Muslims, and atheists held a friendly fundraising competition, where the groups raised more than $50,000.{{cite news|last=Miles|first=Tom|title=Irreverent atheists crowdsource charitable giving|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-atheists-donations-idUSTRE7B81SU20111212|access-date=June 18, 2013|newspaper=Reuters|date=December 12, 2011|archive-date=May 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508135552/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-atheists-donations-idUSTRE7B81SU20111212|url-status=live}} A similar donation drive in 2011 saw the atheism subreddit raise over $200,000 for charity.{{cite news|last=Winston|first=Kimberly|title=Atheists aim to change image of penny-pinching Scrooges|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2011-12-21/atheists-charity-donations/52146680/1|access-date=June 18, 2013|newspaper=USA Today|date=December 21, 2011|archive-date=October 5, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005044226/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2011-12-21/atheists-charity-donations/52146680/1|url-status=live}} In February 2014, Reddit announced it would donate 10% of its annual ad revenue to non-profits voted upon by its users.{{cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/2/28/5458390/reddits-giving-away-10-percent-of-money-made-off-its-ads-to-charity |title=Reddit's giving away 10 percent of money made off its ads to charity this year |author=Josh Lowensohn |date=February 28, 2014 |work=The Verge |access-date=September 12, 2018 |archive-date=March 1, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301110717/https://www.theverge.com/2014/2/28/5458390/reddits-giving-away-10-percent-of-money-made-off-its-ads-to-charity |url-status=live }} As a result of the campaign, Reddit donated $82,765 each to each of the selected recipients.{{cite web |url=https://venturebeat.com/2015/02/26/these-10-charities-will-get-10-of-reddits-2014-ad-revenue/ |title=These 10 charities will get 10% of Reddit's 2014 ad revenue |author=Harrison Weber |date=February 26, 2015 |work=VentureBeat |access-date=September 12, 2018 |archive-date=April 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403010028/https://venturebeat.com/2015/02/26/these-10-charities-will-get-10-of-reddits-2014-ad-revenue/ |url-status=live }}

Reddit has been used for a wide variety of political engagement including the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama,{{cite web|last1=Kanalley|first1=Craig|title=Barack Obama Reddit AMA: President Participates In 'Ask Me Anything' Thread|url=https://huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/29/barack-obama-reddit-ama_n_1840908.html|publisher=Huffington Post|access-date=April 23, 2017|date=August 29, 2012|archive-date=July 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701140200/https://huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/29/barack-obama-reddit-ama_n_1840908.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=How Obama Won The Internet|date=January 9, 2013|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/mhastings/how-obama-won-the-internet|publisher=BuzzFeed|access-date=April 23, 2017|language=en|archive-date=April 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424003558/https://www.buzzfeed.com/mhastings/how-obama-won-the-internet|url-status=live}} Donald Trump,{{cite news|last1=Lagorio-chafkin|first1=Christine|title=Reddit and the God Emperor of the Internet|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/20/opinion/sunday/reddit-and-the-god-emperor-of-the-internet.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 23, 2017|date=November 19, 2016|archive-date=November 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124074424/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/20/opinion/sunday/reddit-and-the-god-emperor-of-the-internet.html|url-status=live}} Hillary Clinton,{{cite news |title=Hillary Clinton Drops In on Reddit's r/HillaryClinton: 'Senpai Notices Us!' |last1=Kulwin |first1=Noah |url=https://www.recode.net/2016/3/6/11586732/hillary-clinton-drops-in-on-reddits-rhillaryclinton-senpai-notices-us |work=Recode |date=March 6, 2016 |access-date=October 9, 2018 |archive-date=May 10, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510072812/https://www.recode.net/2016/3/6/11586732/hillary-clinton-drops-in-on-reddits-rhillaryclinton-senpai-notices-us |url-status=live }} and Bernie Sanders.{{cite news |title=How Bernie Sanders' Online Army Is Using Reddit to Fuel His 2016 Campaign Surge |last1=Krieg |first1=Gregory |url=https://mic.com/articles/124761/how-bernie-sanders-online-army-is-using-reddit-to-fuel-his-2016-campaign-surge#.5IKn7BSHp |work=Mic |date=September 2, 2015 |access-date=October 9, 2018 |archive-date=September 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920215956/https://mic.com/articles/124761/how-bernie-sanders-online-army-is-using-reddit-to-fuel-his-2016-campaign-surge#.5IKn7BSHp |url-status=live }} It has also been used for self-organizing sociopolitical activism such as protests, communication with politicians and active communities. Reddit has become a popular place for worldwide political discussions.{{cite web|title=The Surprising Ways You Ruined Your Interview Before You Even Opened Your Mouth|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/40410078/the-surprising-ways-you-ruined-your-interview-before-you-even-opened-your-mouth|publisher=Fast Company|access-date=April 23, 2017|date=April 21, 2017|archive-date=April 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170421212019/https://www.fastcompany.com/40410078/the-surprising-ways-you-ruined-your-interview-before-you-even-opened-your-mouth|url-status=live}}

{{Main|March for Science}}

The March for Science originated from a discussion on Reddit over the deletion of all references to climate change from the White House website, about which a user commented that "There needs to be a Scientists' March on Washington".{{cite news|title=The March for Science began with this person's 'throwaway line' on Reddit|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/04/21/the-march-for-science-began-with-this-persons-throwaway-line-on-reddit/|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=April 23, 2017|archive-date=April 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423081417/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/04/21/the-march-for-science-began-with-this-persons-throwaway-line-on-reddit/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/01/24/are-scientists-going-to-march-on-washington/|title=Are scientists going to march on Washington?|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=January 31, 2017|archive-date=January 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131152535/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/01/24/are-scientists-going-to-march-on-washington/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Foley|first1=Katherine Ellen|title=The global March for Science started with a single Reddit thread|date=April 22, 2017|url=https://qz.com/965485/the-global-march-for-science-started-with-a-single-reddit-thread/|publisher=Quartz|access-date=April 23, 2017|archive-date=April 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424004314/https://qz.com/965485/the-global-march-for-science-started-with-a-single-reddit-thread/|url-status=live}} On April 22, 2017, more than 1 million scientists and supporters participated in more than 600 events in 66 countries across the globe.{{cite news |title=March for Science rally April 14 will call for evidence-based policy |last1=Feinblatt |first1=Scott |url=https://latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/tn-wknd-et-rally-for-science-20180405-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=April 5, 2018 |access-date=October 9, 2018 |archive-date=November 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118182129/http://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/tn-wknd-et-rally-for-science-20180405-story.html |url-status=live }}

Reddit users have been engaged in the defense of Internet privacy, net neutrality and Internet anonymity.

Reddit created an Internet blackout day and was joined by Wikipedia and other sites in 2012 in protest of the Stop Online Piracy and PROTECT IP acts.{{cite news |title=Wikipedia, MoveOn, Reddit, Mozilla shuts down to protest SOPA/PIPA, how to prepare |last1=Ngak |first1=Chenda |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wikipedia-moveon-reddit-mozilla-shuts-down-to-protest-sopa-pipa-how-to-prepare/ |work=CBS News |date=January 17, 2012 |access-date=September 13, 2018 |archive-date=December 25, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225103530/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wikipedia-moveon-reddit-mozilla-shuts-down-to-protest-sopa-pipa-how-to-prepare/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2012/1/18/2715300/sopa-blackout-wikipedia-reddit-mozilla-google-protest |title=The SOPA blackout: Wikipedia, Reddit, Mozilla, Google, and many others protest proposed law |author=Vlad Savov |date=January 18, 2012 |work=The Verge |access-date=September 13, 2018 |archive-date=January 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118092149/https://www.theverge.com/2012/1/18/2715300/sopa-blackout-wikipedia-reddit-mozilla-google-protest |url-status=live }} On January 18, Reddit participated in a 12-hour sitewide blackout to coincide with a congressional committee hearing on the measures.{{cite web |url=https://venturebeat.com/2012/01/10/reddit-blackout-sopa-pipa/ |title=Reddit goes black Jan. 18 to protest SOPA & PIPA — Who else will join? |author=Tom Cheredar |date=January 10, 2012 |work=VentureBeat |access-date=September 13, 2018 |archive-date=November 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171105015113/https://venturebeat.com/2012/01/10/reddit-blackout-sopa-pipa/ |url-status=live }} During that time, Reddit displayed a message on the legislation's effects on Reddit, in addition to resources on the proposed laws. In May 2012, Reddit joined the Internet Defense League, a group formed to organize future protests.{{cite web|url=http://www.internetdefenseleague.org/members|title=The Internet Defense League – Protecting the Free Internet since 2012|website=Internet Defense League|year=2012|access-date=August 1, 2012|archive-date=June 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150619023748/https://www.internetdefenseleague.org/members/|url-status=dead}}

The site and its users protested the Federal Communications Commission as it prepared to scrap net neutrality rules.{{cite web |url=https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/a3j3x5/net-neutrality-reddit-protestors-took-over-front-page |title=How Net Neutrality Protesters Took Over Reddit |author=Kaleigh Rogers |date=December 12, 2017 |work=Motherboard |access-date=September 13, 2018 |archive-date=September 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910090757/https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/a3j3x5/net-neutrality-reddit-protestors-took-over-front-page |url-status=live }} In 2017, users upvoted "Battle for the Net" posts enough times that they filled up the entire front page. On another day, the front page was overtaken by posts showcasing campaign donations received by members of Congress from the telecommunications industry. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman has also advocated for net neutrality rules.{{cite news |title=F.C.C. repeals net neutrality rules |last1=Kang |first1=Cecilia |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/14/technology/net-neutrality-repeal-vote.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=December 14, 2017 |access-date=March 13, 2018 |archive-date=December 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171214181729/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/14/technology/net-neutrality-repeal-vote.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Reddit flexes its muscle over net neutrality |last1=Ingram |first1=Mathew |url=https://www.cjr.org/analysis/reddit-net-neutrality-fcc.php |newspaper=Columbia Journalism Review |date=December 6, 2017 |access-date=March 13, 2018 |archive-date=December 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206132310/https://www.cjr.org/analysis/reddit-net-neutrality-fcc.php |url-status=live }} In 2017, Huffman told The New York Times that without net neutrality protections, "you give internet service providers the ability to choose winners and losers". On Reddit, Huffman urged redditors to express support for net neutrality and contact their elected representatives in Washington, D.C. Huffman said that the repeal of net neutrality rules stifles competition. He said he and Reddit would continue to advocate for net neutrality.{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2017-12-14/reddit-ceo-net-neutrality-vote-stifles-competition-video|title=Reddit CEO says net neutrality vote stifles competition|date=December 14, 2017|last1=Huffman|first1=Steve|last2=Chang|first2=Emily|publisher=Bloomberg LP|access-date=April 30, 2018|archive-date=December 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215065716/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2017-12-14/reddit-ceo-net-neutrality-vote-stifles-competition-video|url-status=live}}

As a response to Glenn Beck's August 28, 2010, Restoring Honor rally, in September 2010 Reddit users started a movement to persuade satirist Stephen Colbert to have a counter-rally in Washington, D.C.{{cite news |last=Friedman |first=Megan |url=https://newsfeed.time.com/2010/09/14/reddit-campaign-for-colbert-rally-breaks-charity-records/ |title=Reddit Campaign for Colbert Rally Breaks Donation Record |publisher=Time NewsFeed |date=September 14, 2010 |access-date=December 4, 2011 |archive-date=January 10, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120110004421/http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/09/14/reddit-campaign-for-colbert-rally-breaks-charity-records/ |url-status=live }} The movement, which came to be called "Restoring Truthiness", was started by user mrsammercer, in a post where he described waking up from a dream in which Stephen Colbert was holding a satirical rally in D.C.{{cite web |author=mrsammercer |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/d7ntl/ive_had_a_vision_and_i_cant_shake_it_colbert/ |title=I've had a vision and I can't shake it: Colbert needs to hold a satirical rally in DC |website=Reddit |date=August 31, 2010 |access-date=December 4, 2011 |archive-date=September 28, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928073932/http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/d7ntl/ive_had_a_vision_and_i_cant_shake_it_colbert |url-status=live }} Over $100,000 was raised for charity to gain the attention of Colbert. The campaign was mentioned on-air several times, and when the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear was held in Washington, D.C., on October 30, 2010, thousands of redditors made the journey.{{cite web |last=Schiraldi |first=Mike |url=https://redditblog.com/2010/11/buy-shirts-remember-rally-question.html |title=Buy Shirts, Remember the Rally, Question Colbert, and Smile |publisher=blog.reddit |date=November 12, 2010 |access-date=December 4, 2011 |archive-date=July 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714205854/http://www.redditblog.com/2010/11/buy-shirts-remember-rally-question.html |url-status=live }}

During a post-rally press conference, Reddit co-founder Ohanian asked, "What role did the Internet campaign play in convincing you to hold this rally?" Jon Stewart responded by saying that, though it was a very nice gesture, he and Colbert had already thought of the idea and the deposit for using the National Mall was already paid during the summer, so it acted mostly as a "validation of what we were thinking about attempting".[http://www.mediaite.com/tv/jon-stewart-and-stephen-colbert-hold-post-rally-to-restore-sanity-press-conference/ Rally to Restore Sanity – Press Conference – Video] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101101204131/http://www.mediaite.com/tv/jon-stewart-and-stephen-colbert-hold-post-rally-to-restore-sanity-press-conference/ |date=November 1, 2010 }} Mediaite. October 30, 2010. In a message to the Reddit community, Colbert later added, "I have no doubt that your efforts to organize and the joy you clearly brought to your part of the story contributed greatly to the turnout and success."{{cite web |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/ee20j/stephen_colbert_has_answered_your_questions/ |title=Stephen Colbert has answered your questions: IAmA |website=Reddit |date=November 30, 2010 |access-date=December 4, 2011 |archive-date=November 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111109132329/http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/ee20j/stephen_colbert_has_answered_your_questions/ |url-status=live }}

{{see also|Internet censorship in China}}

Reddit has been blocked in multiple countries due to Internet censorship performed by the governments of some countries. As of October 2023, Reddit is blocked in Indonesia, China, North Korea, Turkey, and partially blocked in Bangladesh. Reddit was blocked in Russia in 2015 and later unblocked.

Since May 2014, Reddit has been blocked in Indonesia by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology for hosting content containing nudity.{{cite web|url=http://www.rappler.com/world/regions/asia-pacific/indonesia/bahasa/englishedition/120513-netflix-censorship|title=Netflix is latest victim: 5 things censored in Indonesia|first=Max|last=Stainkamph|date=January 27, 2020|website=Rappler|access-date=April 21, 2020|archive-date=June 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620152106/https://www.rappler.com/world/regions/asia-pacific/indonesia/bahasa/englishedition/120513-netflix-censorship|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/indonesia-bans-vimeo|title=Indonesia bans Vimeo|website=Lowy Institute|last1=Croft-Cutsworth|first1=Catriona|date=May 16, 2014|access-date=August 1, 2018|archive-date=May 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518054824/https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/indonesia-bans-vimeo|url-status=live}}

In August 2015, the Federal Drug Control Service of Russia determined that Reddit was promoting conversations about psychedelic drugs. The Roskomnadzor banned the website, citing advice on how to grow magic mushrooms as the reason. The Russian government had asked Reddit before to remove drug-related posts to no response. The site was later unblocked.{{cite web|title=Russia bans Reddit|url=https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/russia-bans-reddit/articleshow/48459735.cms|website=Business Insider|last1=Chong|first1=Celena|date=August 13, 2015|access-date=April 2, 2020|archive-date=June 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602205753/https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/russia-bans-reddit/articleshow/48459735.cms|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |last=Chong |first=Celena |title=Russia bans Reddit over shrooms |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-bans-reddit-2015-8 |access-date=June 14, 2023 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US |archive-date=August 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150815004852/https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-bans-reddit-2015-8 |url-status=live }}

ISPs in India were found to be blocking traffic over Reddit for intermittent periods in some regions in 2019.{{cite web|title=Reddit, Telegram among websites blocked in India: internet groups|url=https://in.reuters.com/article/us-india-internet/reddit-telegram-among-websites-blocked-in-india-internet-groups-idINKCN1RF14D|website=Reuters India|last1=Ravikumar|first1=Sau Sachin|date=April 3, 2019|access-date=April 2, 2020|archive-date=October 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020134609/https://in.reuters.com/article/us-india-internet/reddit-telegram-among-websites-blocked-in-india-internet-groups-idINKCN1RF14D|url-status=dead}}

{{Main|List of Reddit April Fools' Day events}}

Over the years, Reddit has done multiple pranks and events for April Fools' Day. Since 2013, they have often taken the form of massive social experiments. Noteworthy events include The Button in 2015, which included a global "button" that could only be clicked once per user. It attracted more than a million clicks.{{cite web |url=https://www.vox.com/2015/4/10/8383165/reddit-button-explained |title=The button: the fascinating social experiment driving Reddit crazy |first1=Timothy |last1=Lee |date=April 14, 2015 |website=Vox |publisher=Vox Media |access-date=April 24, 2015 |archive-date=March 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311200604/https://www.vox.com/2015/4/10/8383165/reddit-button-explained |url-status=live }}

2017's experiment r/place involved making a collaborative pixel art. Millions of users worked together in communities to place pixels one at a time to create a larger canvas. This experiment was very successful and repeated in 2022's April Fools experiment and in 2023.{{cite news|title=Reddit's new 'Place' is forcing millions of users to work together to make something great|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-place-april-fools-experiment-canvas-2017-3?r=US&IR=T|access-date=April 1, 2017|website=Business Insider|language=en|archive-date=April 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170402081422/http://uk.businessinsider.com/reddit-place-april-fools-experiment-canvas-2017-3?r=US&IR=T|url-status=live}}{{cite web |last=Adorno |first=José |date=March 28, 2022 |title=Reddit is bringing back r/Place for April Fools' Day – here's how to participate |url=https://9to5mac.com/2022/03/28/reddit-is-bringing-back-r-place-for-april-fools-day-heres-how-to-participate/ |website=9to5Mac |language=en-US |access-date=April 3, 2022 |archive-date=April 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404203227/https://9to5mac.com/2022/03/28/reddit-is-bringing-back-r-place-for-april-fools-day-heres-how-to-participate/ |url-status=live }}

AMAs, or "Ask Me Anything" interviews, during an AMA on r/IAmA and other subreddits, users can ask questions to interviewees.{{Cite news |last=Wood |first=Roy |title=Bill Gates Does a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" Interview |url=https://www.wired.com/2013/02/bill-gates-does-a-reddit-ask-me-anything-interview/ |access-date=2025-03-31 |work=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}} Notable participants include former-United States President Barack Obama (while campaigning for the 2012 election),{{cite news | title=President Obama makes online appearance on Reddit |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9507620/President-Obama-makes-online-appearance-on-Reddit.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9507620/President-Obama-makes-online-appearance-on-Reddit.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=August 30, 2012 |date=August 29, 2012 |newspaper=The Telegraph |location=London}}{{cbignore}} Bill Gates (multiple times),{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/27/bill-gates-reddit-ama-trump-reaction.html|title=Bill Gates is 'concerned' about U.S. influence overseas and political divide online|publisher=CNBC|author=Michelle Castillo|date=February 27, 2017|quote=Gates participated in an "ask me anything" feature on Reddit that allows notable people to answer questions from users. This is the fifth time Gates has participated.|access-date=March 22, 2019|archive-date=April 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403010112/https://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/27/bill-gates-reddit-ama-trump-reaction.html|url-status=live}} and Donald Trump (also while campaigning).{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/27/donald-trump-reddit-ama|title=From the media to moon landings: Trump takes questions in Reddit AMA|work=The Guardian|date=July 28, 2016|author=Scott Bixby|access-date=March 22, 2019|archive-date=May 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170511123305/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/27/donald-trump-reddit-ama|url-status=live}} AMAs have featured CEO Steve Huffman,{{cite news |title=Reddit Confirms New Russian Meddling Efforts |last1=Lagorio-Chafkin |first1=Christine |url=https://www.inc.com/christine-lagorio/reddit-finds-new-russian-interference-campaign.html |work=Inc. |date=October 4, 2018 |access-date=October 10, 2018 |archive-date=October 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181007201924/https://www.inc.com/christine-lagorio/reddit-finds-new-russian-interference-campaign.html |url-status=live }} as well as figures from entertainment industries around the world (including Priyanka Chopra and George Clooney),{{cite news |author=FP Staff |title=Priyanka Chopra's Reddit encounter: Did AMA make her run away? |url=http://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/priyanka-chopras-reddit-encounter-did-ama-make-her-run-away-1601489.html |publisher=Firstpost |date=July 4, 2014 |access-date=April 4, 2021 |archive-date=August 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819095716/https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/priyanka-chopras-reddit-encounter-did-ama-make-her-run-away-1601489.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=George Clooney Talks 'Monuments Men,' Playing Batman in Reddit AMA |last1=Bacardi |first1=Francesca |url=https://variety.com/2014/film/news/george-clooney-talks-monuments-men-playing-batman-in-reddit-ama-1201075072/ |work=Variety |date=January 28, 2014 |access-date=October 9, 2018 |archive-date=April 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403010015/https://variety.com/2014/film/news/george-clooney-talks-monuments-men-playing-batman-in-reddit-ama-1201075072/ |url-status=live }} literature (Margaret Atwood),{{cite news |title=Margaret Atwood's charming Reddit AMA |last1=Schaub |first1=Michael |url=https://latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-margaret-atwood-charming-reddit-ama-20141231-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=December 31, 2014 |access-date=October 9, 2018 |archive-date=April 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403010231/https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-margaret-atwood-charming-reddit-ama-20141231-story.html |url-status=live }} space (Buzz Aldrin),{{cite news |title=Buzz Aldrin's AMA: colonising Mars and the moon's 'magnificent desolation' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jul/08/buzz-aldrin-ama-mars-colony-moon-landing |newspaper=The Guardian |date=July 8, 2014 |access-date=October 9, 2018 |archive-date=October 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008090456/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jul/08/buzz-aldrin-ama-mars-colony-moon-landing |url-status=live }} privacy (Edward Snowden),{{cite news |title=Any regrets, Edward Snowden? "I'd have come forward sooner" |last1=Whittaker |first1=Zack |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/edward-snowden-reddit-ama/ |work=ZDNet |date=February 23, 2015 |access-date=October 9, 2018 |archive-date=April 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403010014/https://www.zdnet.com/article/edward-snowden-reddit-ama/ |url-status=live }} fictional characters (including Borat and Cookie Monster) and others, such as experts who answered questions about the transgender community.{{cite news |title=Experts Answer Reddit Questions About Transgender People |last1=McNamara |first1=Brittney |url=https://www.teenvogue.com/story/reddit-transgender-ama-busts-myths |work=Teen Vogue |date=July 28, 2017 |access-date=October 9, 2018 |archive-date=January 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125124000/https://www.teenvogue.com/story/reddit-transgender-ama-busts-myths |url-status=live }} The Atlantic wrote that an AMA "imports the aspirational norms of honesty and authenticity from pseudonymous Internet forums into a public venue".{{cite news |last1=Madrigal |first1=Alexis C. |date=January 7, 2014 |title=AMA: How a Weird Internet Thing Became a Mainstream Delight |newspaper=The Atlantic |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/01/ama-how-a-weird-internet-thing-became-a-mainstream-delight/282860/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=September 12, 2018 |archive-date=January 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108002222/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/01/ama-how-a-weird-internet-thing-became-a-mainstream-delight/282860/ |url-status=live }}

{{Main|RedditGifts}}

RedditGifts was a program that offers gift exchanges throughout the year.{{cite news |title=Give and receive gifts online with Redditgifts |last1=Boran |first1=Marie |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/give-and-receive-gifts-online-with-redditgifts-1.2789833 |newspaper=Irish Times |date=September 15, 2016 |access-date=September 12, 2018 |archive-date=April 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409235121/https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/give-and-receive-gifts-online-with-redditgifts-1.2789833 |url-status=live }} The fan-made RedditGifts site was created in 2009 for a Secret Santa exchange among Reddit users, which has since become the world's largest{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/08/23/reddit-acquires-redditgifts/ |title=Reddit Acquires Fan-Made Secret Santa Site, RedditGifts |author=Greg Kumparak |date=August 23, 2011 |work=TechCrunch |access-date=September 12, 2018 |archive-date=January 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190102111211/https://techcrunch.com/2011/08/23/reddit-acquires-redditgifts/ |url-status=live }} and set a Guinness World record. In 2009, 4,500 redditors participated. For the 2010 holiday season, 92 countries were involved in the secret Santa program. There were 17,543 participants, and $662,907.60 was collectively spent on gift purchases and shipping costs.{{cite web |url=https://venturebeat.com/2010/12/23/secret-santa-success-caps-banner-year-for-reddit/ |title=Secret Santa success caps banner year for Reddit |last1=Boitnott |first1=John |date=December 23, 2010 |website=VentureBeat Interpreting Innovation |publisher=VentureBeat |access-date=January 3, 2011 |archive-date=December 28, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228054514/http://venturebeat.com/2010/12/23/secret-santa-success-caps-banner-year-for-reddit/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-12-20/secret-santa-the-creator-of-reddits-gift-exchange-the-worlds-biggest/ |title=The Biggest Secret Santa Gift Exchange in the World |website=The Daily Beast |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223044608/http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-12-20/secret-santa-the-creator-of-reddits-gift-exchange-the-worlds-biggest |archive-date=December 23, 2010 |access-date=February 12, 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://redditgifts.com/statistics/ |title=Statistics for Secret Santa 2010 |access-date=February 12, 2011 |archive-date=January 20, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110120115600/http://redditgifts.com/statistics/ |url-status=live }} In 2014, about 200,000 users from 188 countries participated.{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/nearly-1-000-reddit-ottawa-users-signed-up-for-gift-exchange-1.2880013|title=Nearly 1,000 Reddit Ottawa users signed up for gift exchange|publisher=CBC News|date=December 19, 2014|access-date=December 20, 2014|archive-date=December 20, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220211232/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/nearly-1-000-reddit-ottawa-users-signed-up-for-gift-exchange-1.2880013|url-status=live}} Several celebrities have participated in the program, including Bill Gates,{{cite news|last1=McCluskey|first1=Megan|title=Bill Gates Gave One Reddit User an Amazingly Thoughtful Secret Santa Gift|url=https://time.com/4153766/bill-gates-reddit-secret-santa/|date=December 17, 2015|access-date=April 27, 2016|archive-date=February 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160229200054/http://time.com/4153766/bill-gates-reddit-secret-santa/|url-status=live}} Alyssa Milano,{{cite news |title=Bill Gates was her secret Santa, and it was as awesome as you'd think |last1=Criss |first1=Doug |url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/20/health/bill-gates-secret-santa-trnd/index.html |work=CNN |date=September 21, 2017 |access-date=October 9, 2018 |archive-date=February 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190227172853/https://www.cnn.com/2016/12/20/health/bill-gates-secret-santa-trnd/index.html |url-status=live }} and Snoop Dogg.{{cite news|last1=Ballingall|first1=Alex|title=Web community's holiday gift exchange has more than 212,000 participants this year, including celebrities and people from 188 countries|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/12/22/reddit_secret_santa_could_pair_you_with_snoop_dogg.html|date=December 22, 2014|access-date=April 27, 2016|archive-date=June 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610062510/https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/12/22/reddit_secret_santa_could_pair_you_with_snoop_dogg.html|url-status=live}} Eventually, the secret Santa program expanded to various other occasions through RedditGifts, which Reddit acquired in 2011.

As with most public online forums, Reddit is vulnerable to the use of disruptive or manipulative practices by its members, from sources such as troll farms, click farms and astroturfing.

Another example is brigading, notable in the case of Reddit as it is often cited as the origin of the practice and use of the word in this context.{{cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/brigading-online-poll-meaning |title=New Use of 'Brigade' |publisher=Merriam-Webster |access-date=May 28, 2023 |archive-date=May 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528120853/https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/brigading-online-poll-meaning |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.institute.global/insights/tech-and-digitalisation/social-media-futures-what-brigading#introduction |title=Social Media Futures: What Is Brigading? |first=Tony |last=Blair |website=www.institute.global |date=March 10, 2021 |access-date=May 28, 2023 |archive-date=May 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528121556/https://www.institute.global/insights/tech-and-digitalisation/social-media-futures-what-brigading#introduction |url-status=live }} Though all of these examples are in some form, against the rules of Reddit's content policy,{{cite web |url=https://www.redditinc.com/policies/content-policy |title=Reddit Content Policy |website=www.redditinc.com |access-date=May 28, 2023 |archive-date=October 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004142220/https://www.redditinc.com/policies/content-policy |url-status=live }} at least in the case of brigading, they are not always malicious in intent. A notable example is the case of "Mr. Splashy Pants", when organized brigading of another website, by redditors, appears to have been tacitly encouraged by the Reddit administration. In the aftermath, the target of this vote brigading appeared to take it in good humor.Greenpeace.org: [http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/humpbacks-to-be-spared-the-har Humpbacks to be spared the harpoon -- for now] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212102211/http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/humpbacks-to-be-spared-the-har |date=February 12, 2010 |access-date=May 28, 2023}}

{{main|Mister Splashy Pants}}

File:Reddit Mr. Splashy Pants.png Reddit communities occasionally coordinate Reddit-external projects such as skewing polls on other websites, like the 2007 incident when Greenpeace allowed web users to decide the name of a humpback whale it was tracking. Reddit users voted en masse to name the whale "Mister Splashy Pants", and Reddit administrators encouraged the prank by changing the site logo to a whale during the voting. In December of that year, Mister Splashy Pants was announced as the winner of the competition.{{cite web |author=Feature story |url=http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/features/splashy-101207/ |title=Mister Splashy Pants the whale – you named him, now save him |publisher=Greenpeace.org |date=December 10, 2007 |access-date=August 8, 2014 |archive-date=June 20, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140620004321/http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/features/splashy-101207/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=The Six Most Important Moments in Reddit History |last1=Nicks |first1=Denver |url=https://techland.time.com/2013/10/01/the-six-most-important-moments-in-reddit-history/ |newspaper=Time |date=October 1, 2013 |access-date=April 25, 2019 |archive-date=April 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427163202/http://techland.time.com/2013/10/01/the-six-most-important-moments-in-reddit-history/ |url-status=live }}

{{See also|Controversial Reddit communities}}

In general, the website grants subreddit moderators discretion in deciding what content is and is not allowed on their subreddits, so long as site-wide rules are not being violated. This relative freedom has allowed for a wide diversity of subreddits to exist, and some of them have attracted controversy.{{cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/rules|title=Rules of Reddit|access-date=October 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013181545/http://www.reddit.com/rules/|archive-date=October 13, 2012|url-status=live}}

File:Message that reddit users receive when getting banned from a subreddit.png

Many of the default subreddits are highly moderated, with the "science" subreddit banning climate change denialism,{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/science/critics-blast-reddit-over-climate-change-skeptic-ban/ |title=Critics blast Reddit over climate-change skeptic ban |date=December 19, 2013 |website=Fox News |quote=Reddit's director of communications told FoxNews.com that while it was Allen's prerogative to ban climate-change skeptics from "/r/science", his statements "do not reflect the views of Reddit as a whole, or other science or climate-oriented subreddits. Each subreddit community is entitled to its own views, and anyone who wants to start their own subreddit is welcome to do so devoted to their views, opinions or interests" |access-date=February 18, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924150955/http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/12/19/critics-blast-reddit-over-climate-change-skeptic-ban/ |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |url-status=live }} and the "news" subreddit banning opinion pieces and columns.{{cite web|url=http://www.poynter.org/news/media-innovation/249341/how-to-get-your-news-site-banned-from-reddit/|title=How to get your news site banned from Reddit|website=Poynter|quote=If you don't like how a moderator is managing a subreddit, the best solution is to start your own subreddit and moderate it with different rules, said Victoria Taylor, director of communications for Reddit.|date=November 25, 2014|author=Sam Kirkland|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705045145/http://www.poynter.org/news/media-innovation/249341/how-to-get-your-news-site-banned-from-reddit/|archive-date=July 5, 2015}} Reddit has changed its site-wide editorial policies several times, sometimes in reaction to controversies.{{cite web|url=http://www.redditblog.com/2011/05/reddit-we-need-to-talk.html|title=blog.reddit – what's new on reddit: reddit, we need to talk...|website=redditblog.com|access-date=February 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160713095950/http://www.redditblog.com/2011/05/reddit-we-need-to-talk.html|archive-date=July 13, 2016|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/blog/comments/pmj7f/a_necessary_change_in_policy/|title=A necessary change in policy: blog|website=reddit|date=February 12, 2012 |access-date=February 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190212220141/https://www.reddit.com/r/blog/comments/pmj7f/a_necessary_change_in_policy/|archive-date=February 12, 2019|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://i.imgur.com/7oWt3.jpg|title=Image from Yishan Wong|website=imgur.com|access-date=April 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018155133/http://i.imgur.com/7oWt3.jpg|archive-date=October 18, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/former-reddit-ceo-yishan-wong-on-ellen-pao-censorship-free-speech-purge-2015-7|title=Reddit's old CEO rewrites the history of Reddit and says 'the purge' of users will begin|author=Rob Price|website=Business Insider Australia|access-date=February 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216210816/https://www.businessinsider.com.au/former-reddit-ceo-yishan-wong-on-ellen-pao-censorship-free-speech-purge-2015-7|archive-date=December 16, 2018|url-status=live|date=July 15, 2015}} Reddit has historically been a platform for objectionable but legal content, and in 2011, news media covered the way that jailbait was being shared on the site before the site changed their policies to explicitly ban "suggestive or sexual content featuring minors".{{cite web |url=http://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-bans-suggestive-sexual-content-minors/ |title=Reddit bans "suggestive or sexual content" of minors |last1=Morris |first1=Kevin |date=February 12, 2012 |newspaper=The Daily Dot |access-date=June 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714190038/http://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-bans-suggestive-sexual-content-minors/ |archive-date=July 14, 2014 |url-status=live }} Following some controversial incidents of Internet vigilantism, Reddit introduced a strict rule against the online publication of non-public personally-identifying information (a common internet harassment tool colloquially known as doxxing) via the site. Those who break the rule are subject to a site-wide ban, which can result in the deletion of their user-generated content.

Due to Reddit's decentralized moderation, user anonymity, and lack of fact-checking systems, the platform is highly prone to spreading misinformation and disinformation.{{cite web |url=https://www.newamerica.org/oti/reports/how-internet-platforms-are-combating-disinformation-and-misinformation-age-covid-19/reddit/ |title=How Internet Platforms Are Combating Disinformation and Misinformation in the Age of COVID-19 |website=New America |access-date=March 18, 2023 |archive-date=March 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230318165657/https://www.newamerica.org/oti/reports/how-internet-platforms-are-combating-disinformation-and-misinformation-age-covid-19/reddit/ |url-status=live }} It has been suggested that those who use Reddit should exercise caution in taking user-created unsourced content as fact.{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/12/08/786039738/managing-misinformation-on-reddit |title=Managing Misinformation On Reddit |last=Garcia-Navarro |first=Lulu |date=December 8, 2019 |website=NPR |access-date=March 18, 2023 |archive-date=March 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321115549/http://www.npr.org/2019/12/08/786039738/managing-misinformation-on-reddit/ |url-status=live }} Concerns have been raised in particular about dangerous medical misinformation on the platform. A 2022 study of 300 comments and posts discussing urinary tract infections found that fewer than 1% cited a source for their content, and several contained harmful medical misinformation that may dissuade readers from seeking medical care or lead to dangerous self-medication, such as proposing fasting as a cure for UTIs.{{cite web |url=https://www.urologytimes.com/view/reddit-study-shows-abundance-of-misinformation-on-recurrent-utis |title=Reddit study shows abundance of misinformation on recurrent UTIs |website=Urology Times |last1=Hart |first1=Janelle |date=February 8, 2022 |access-date=March 18, 2023}}

Reddit communities exhibit the echo chamber effect, in which repeated unsourced statements come to be accepted among the community as fact, leading to distorted worldviews among users.{{cite journal |last1=Cinnelli |first1=Matteo |last2=De Francisci Morales |first2=Gianmarco |last3=Galeazzi |first3=Alessandro |last4=Starnini |first4=Michele |date=February 23, 2021 |title=The echo chamber effect on social media |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=118 |issue=9 |pages=e2023301118 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2023301118 |pmid=33622786 |pmc=7936330 |bibcode=2021PNAS..11823301C |doi-access=free }} It has been suggested that since 2019, Russian state-sponsored troll accounts and bots have engaged in a broad campaign to take over subreddits, such as r/antiwar.{{cite web | last=Naylor | first=Aliide | title=Pro-Putin Disinformation Warriors Take War of Aggression to Reddit | website=CEPA | date=December 12, 2023 | url=https://cepa.org/article/pro-putin-disinformation-warriors-take-war-of-aggression-to-reddit/ | access-date=December 30, 2023 | archive-date=December 30, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231230142425/https://cepa.org/article/pro-putin-disinformation-warriors-take-war-of-aggression-to-reddit/ | url-status=live }}

After the Boston Marathon bombing in April 2013, Reddit faced criticism after users wrongly identified a number of people as suspects in the Subreddit r/FindBostonBombers.{{cite news|url=http://www.3news.co.nz/Innocents-accused-in-online-manhunt/tabid/412/articleID/295143/Default.aspx |website=3 News NZ |title=Innocents accused in online manhunt |date=April 22, 2013 |access-date=June 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215111626/http://www.3news.co.nz/Innocents-accused-in-online-manhunt/tabid/412/articleID/295143/Default.aspx |archive-date=December 15, 2013}} Notable among misidentified bombing suspects was Sunil Tripathi, a student reported missing before the bombings took place. A body reported to be Sunil's was found in Providence River in Rhode Island on April 25, according to Rhode Island Health Department. The cause of death was not immediately known, but authorities said they did not suspect foul play.{{cite news|last1=Buncombe |first1=Andrew |title=Family of Sunil Tripathi – missing student wrongly linked to Boston marathon bombing – thank well-wishers for messages of support|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/family-of-sunil-tripathi--missing-student-wrongly-linked-to-boston-marathon-bombing--thank-wellwishers-for-messages-of-support-8586850.html |access-date=January 17, 2015 |website=The Independent |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403112655/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/family-of-sunil-tripathi--missing-student-wrongly-linked-to-boston-marathon-bombing--thank-wellwishers-for-messages-of-support-8586850.html |archive-date=April 3, 2015 |quote=The cause of the student's death has still be determined but the medical examiner said no foul play was suspected. |location=London |date=April 26, 2013 }} The family later confirmed Tripathi's death was a result of suicide.{{cite news|last1=Nark |first1=Jason |title=The Boston bombing's forgotten victim|url=http://articles.philly.com/2014-04-30/news/49497042_1_sunil-tripathi-providence-river-sunny |access-date=October 31, 2014 |website=Philadelphia Daily News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141115054203/http://articles.philly.com/2014-04-30/news/49497042_1_sunil-tripathi-providence-river-sunny |archive-date=November 15, 2014 |quote=Akhil spent the most time with Sunny before his suicide, weekends at Brown where he tried to help his youngest child foresee a future. }} Reddit general manager Erik Martin later issued an apology for this behavior, criticizing the "online witch hunts and dangerous speculation" that took place on the website.{{cite web|last=Martin|first=Erik|title=Reflections on the Recent Boston Crisis|url=https://redditblog.com/2013/04/reflections-on-recent-boston-crisis.html|website=Reddit|access-date=May 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140310105548/http://www.redditblog.com/2013/04/reflections-on-recent-boston-crisis.html|archive-date=March 10, 2014|url-status=live}} The incident was later referenced in the season 5 episode of the CBS TV series The Good Wife titled "Whack-a-Mole",{{cite news|last=Harnick|first=Chris|title='The Good Wife' Recap: Alicia Takes on Anonymous Posters in 'Whack-A-Mole'|url=https://huffingtonpost.com/chris-harnick/the-good-wife-recap-whack-a-mole_b_4334401.html|website=The Huffington Post|access-date=November 25, 2013|date=November 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131126192904/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-harnick/the-good-wife-recap-whack-a-mole_b_4334401.html|archive-date=November 26, 2013|url-status=live}} as well as The Newsroom.{{cite news|last1=Hathaway |first1=Jay |title=Here's How The Newsroom Covered Reddit's Failed Boston Bombing Manhunt |url=http://gawker.com/heres-how-the-newsroom-covered-reddits-failed-boston-bo-1657483136 |access-date=June 27, 2015 |date=November 11, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630092603/http://gawker.com/heres-how-the-newsroom-covered-reddits-failed-boston-bo-1657483136 |archive-date=June 30, 2015 }}{{cite news|last1=Fallon|first1=Kevin|title='Newsroom' Premiere: Aaron Sorkin Puts CNN on Blast Over the Boston Bombing|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/10/newsroom-premiere-aaron-sorkin-puts-cnn-on-blast-over-the-boston-bombing.html|access-date=June 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150629232025/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/10/newsroom-premiere-aaron-sorkin-puts-cnn-on-blast-over-the-boston-bombing.html|archive-date=June 29, 2015|url-status=live}}

In August, private sexual photos from the celebrity photo hack were widely disseminated across the site.{{cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/9/1/6092769/creeps|title=Say hello to men who hate NSA spying but blame women for being spied on|date=September 1, 2014|website=The Verge|access-date=October 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006081104/http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/1/6092769/creeps|archive-date=October 6, 2014|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/is-apples-icloud-safe-after-leak-of-jennifer-lawrence-and-other-celebrities-nude-photos-9703142.html|title=Is Apple's iCloud safe after leak of Jennifer Lawrence and other celebrities' nude photos?|website=The Independent|access-date=October 7, 2014|location=London|first=James|last=Vincent|date=September 1, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006125523/http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/is-apples-icloud-safe-after-leak-of-jennifer-lawrence-and-other-celebrities-nude-photos-9703142.html|archive-date=October 6, 2014|url-status=live}} A dedicated subreddit, "TheFappening", was created for this purpose,{{cite web|url=http://www.chicagonow.com/so-you-have-a-girlfriend/2014/08/celebrity-naked-photos-leaked-thefappening/|title=Celebrity Naked Photos Leaked – #theFappening – So You Have A Girlfriend|website=Chicago Tribune|access-date=October 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006172652/http://www.chicagonow.com/so-you-have-a-girlfriend/2014/08/celebrity-naked-photos-leaked-thefappening/|archive-date=October 6, 2014|url-status=dead}} and contained links to most if not all of the criminally obtained explicit images.{{cite news|url=http://www.business2community.com/social-buzz/fappening-broadcast-live-reddit-100000-viewers-0995207#!bOcMup|title=The Fappening Is Being Broadcast Live On Reddit With 100,000+ Viewers|website=Business 2 Community|access-date=October 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006210054/http://www.business2community.com/social-buzz/fappening-broadcast-live-reddit-100000-viewers-0995207#!bOcMup|archive-date=October 6, 2014|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.metro.us/newyork/entertainment/gossip/2014/09/01/fappening-creepy-hackers-release-creepy-celebrity-nudes-creeps/|title=Security expert weighs in on 'The Fappening' and the iCloud|author=Anthony Johnston, Metro World News|date=October 10, 2014|website=Metro|access-date=December 26, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006123154/http://www.metro.us/newyork/entertainment/gossip/2014/09/01/fappening-creepy-hackers-release-creepy-celebrity-nudes-creeps/|archive-date=October 6, 2014}}{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/celebrity/hunt-begins-for-hacker-behind-jennifer-lawrence-nude-photo-theft-20140902-10b7vc.html|title=Hunt begins for hacker behind Jennifer Lawrence nude photo theft|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=October 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140930220806/http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/celebrity/hunt-begins-for-hacker-behind-jennifer-lawrence-nude-photo-theft-20140902-10b7vc.html|archive-date=September 30, 2014|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/jennifer-lawrence-nude-photos-leaked-hacker-posts-explicit-pics/story-fn907478-1227043406704?sv=306536ca258a2e18616921c12eb4e2eb|title=Jennifer Lawrence nude photos leaked: Hacker posts explicit pics|website=NewsComAu|access-date=October 7, 2014|date=September 3, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006131634/http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/jennifer-lawrence-nude-photos-leaked-hacker-posts-explicit-pics/story-fn907478-1227043406704?sv=306536ca258a2e18616921c12eb4e2eb|archive-date=October 6, 2014|url-status=live}} Some images of McKayla Maroney and Liz Lee were identified by redditors and outside commentators as child pornography because the photos were taken when the women were underage.{{cite web|last1=Price|first1=Rob|title=There's child porn in the massive celebrity nudes hack|url=http://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-fappening-celebgate-mckayla-liz-lee-child-porn/?fbdd|website=The Daily Dot|access-date=September 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904153059/http://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-fappening-celebgate-mckayla-liz-lee-child-porn/?fbdd|archive-date=September 4, 2014|url-status=live|date=September 2, 2014}} The subreddit was banned on September 6.{{cite web|last1=Geller|first1=Eric|title=Reddit just banned the subreddit at the center of Celebgate|url=http://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-bans-the-fappening/|website=The Daily Dot|access-date=September 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140908003341/http://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-bans-the-fappening/|archive-date=September 8, 2014|url-status=live|date=September 7, 2014}} The scandal led to wider criticisms concerning the website's administration from The Verge and The Daily Dot.{{cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/9/8/6121363/reddit-is-a-failed-state |title=Reddit is a failed state |first1=T.C. |last1=Sottek |date=September 8, 2014 |website=The Verge |publisher=Vox Media |access-date=November 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104224406/http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/8/6121363/reddit-is-a-failed-state |archive-date=November 4, 2014 |url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Sankin|first1=Aaron|title=Is Reddit broken beyond repair?|url=http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue-sections/staff-editorials/10749/reddit-broken-beyond-repair/|website=The Daily Dot|access-date=November 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103024118/http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue-sections/staff-editorials/10749/reddit-broken-beyond-repair/|archive-date=November 3, 2014|url-status=live|date=November 2, 2014}}

After Ellen Pao became CEO in 2014, she was initially a target of criticism by users who objected to the deletion of content critical of herself and her husband.{{cite news|last=Staff writers|url=https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/why-does-the-internet-hate-ellen-pao/news-story/fdc517381811d2302d9b42e69820c507|title=Why does the internet hate Ellen Pao?|website=News.com.au|date=July 15, 2015|access-date=May 1, 2021|archive-date=May 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501222922/https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/why-does-the-internet-hate-ellen-pao/news-story/fdc517381811d2302d9b42e69820c507|url-status=live}} Later on June 10, 2015, Reddit shut down the 150,000-subscriber "fatpeoplehate" subreddit and four others citing issues related to harassment.{{Cite news|last=Griffin|first=Andrew|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/reddit-bans-communities-including-fat-people-hate-as-users-say-anti-harassment-policies-could-be-10312251.html|title=Reddit bans communities including 'Fat People Hate' as users say anti-harassment policies could be 'beginning of the end'|date=June 11, 2015|newspaper=The Independent|access-date=February 8, 2017|language=en-GB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211083327/http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/reddit-bans-communities-including-fat-people-hate-as-users-say-anti-harassment-policies-could-be-10312251.html|archive-date=February 11, 2017|url-status=live}} This move was seen as very controversial; some commenters said that the bans went too far, while others said that the bans did not go far enough.{{cite news|last1=Woollacott|first1=Emma|title=Users Flock To Voat As Reddit Shuts Harassing Groups|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/emmawoollacott/2015/06/11/users-flock-to-voat-as-reddit-shuts-harassing-groups/2/|website=Forbes|access-date=June 11, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613032954/http://www.forbes.com/sites/emmawoollacott/2015/06/11/users-flock-to-voat-as-reddit-shuts-harassing-groups/2/|archive-date=June 13, 2015|url-status=live}} One of the latter complaints concerned a subreddit that was "expressing support" for the perpetrator of the Charleston church shooting.{{cite news|last=Wendling|first=Mike|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-33288367|title=What should social networks do about hate speech?|access-date=July 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701024736/http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-33288367|archive-date=July 1, 2015|url-status=live|date=June 29, 2015}} Responding to the accusations of "skewed enforcement", Reddit reaffirmed their commitment to free expression and stated, "There are some subreddits with very little viewership that get highlighted repeatedly for their content, but those are a tiny fraction of the content on the site."

On July 2, Reddit began experiencing a series of blackouts as moderators set popular subreddit communities to private, in an event dubbed "AMAgeddon", a portmanteau of AMA ("ask me anything") and Armageddon. This was done in protest of the recent firing of Victoria Taylor, an administrator who helped organize citizen-led interviews with famous people on the popular AMA subreddit. Organizers of the blackout also expressed resentment about the recent severance of the communication between Reddit and the moderators of subreddits.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33379571 |title=Reddit in uproar after staff sacking |date=July 3, 2015 |website=BBC News |publisher=BBC |access-date=July 3, 2015 |quote="About 100 chat sections, or sub-reddits, that together have millions of readers are believed to have been shut. Reddit's only comment about the issue has been to say that it did not talk about 'individual employee matters'. The protests were led by the volunteer moderators of the AMA section, which said in an explanatory posting that they needed Ms Taylor to keep the sub-reddit functioning. Ms Taylor helped organise guests for AMAs and worked to verify that people due to answer questions were who they said they were. There had been no explanation of why she was suddenly sacked, said the administrators." |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703113331/http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33379571 |archive-date=July 3, 2015 |url-status=live }} The blackout intensified on July 3 when former community manager David Croach gave an AMA about being fired. Before deleting his posts, he stated that Ellen Pao dismissed him with one year of health coverage when he had cancer and did not recover quickly enough.{{cite web|title=Reddit: Laute Rufe nach Absetzung von CEO Ellen Pao|website=Der Standard|url=http://derstandard.at/2000018574154/Reddit-Laute-Rufe-nach-Absetzung-von-CEO-Ellen-Pao|access-date=July 5, 2015|date=July 4, 2015|quote=Zwar sind einige Foren wieder entsperrt, trotzdem ist Pao weiterhin Ziel vielerlei Angriffe. Zusätzliches Öl ins Feuer goss ein ehemaliger Community Manager der Online-Community, der angab von der Reddit-Chefin aufgrund seiner Krebserkrankung gefeuert worden zu sein. Zuvor wurde dem an Leukämie erkrankten Mitarbeiter eingeräumt, beim Unternehmen zu verbleiben – allerdings meldete sich Pao nur wenig später und gab ihm zu wissen, dass er aufgrund seiner Erkrankung nicht mehr bei Reddit verbleiben könnte. So zumindest die Behauptung, die wenig später offline ging.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706204942/http://derstandard.at/2000018574154/Reddit-Laute-Rufe-nach-Absetzung-von-CEO-Ellen-Pao|archive-date=July 6, 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Reddit's CEO Allegedly Fired an Employee For Having Cancer and Not Recovering Fast Enough|url=http://nextshark.com/ellen-pao-reddit-dacvak-ama/|website=Next Shark|access-date=July 5, 2015|date=July 3, 2015}} Following this, a Change.org petition to remove Pao as CEO of Reddit Inc. reached over 200,000 signatures.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-leadership/wp/2015/07/06/nearly-200k-people-have-signed-a-petition-calling-for-reddits-ellen-pao-to-step-down/|title=More than 200k people have signed a petition calling for Reddit's Ellen Pao to step down|date=July 6, 2015|access-date=July 7, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|first=Jena|last=McGregor|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707234726/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-leadership/wp/2015/07/06/nearly-200k-people-have-signed-a-petition-calling-for-reddits-ellen-pao-to-step-down/|archive-date=July 7, 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Musil|first1=Steven|title=Petition for Pao resignation from Reddit grows to 130K|url=https://cnet.com/news/petition-for-pao-resignation-from-reddit-grows-to-130k/|publisher=CNET|access-date=July 5, 2015|date=July 5, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705211231/http://www.cnet.com/news/petition-for-pao-resignation-from-reddit-grows-to-130k/|archive-date=July 5, 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Malik|first1=Naureen|last2=Jones|first2=Tim|title=Reddit CEO Pao Under Fire as Users Protest Removal of Executive|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-04/reddit-restores-most-of-site-after-moderator-led-blackouts|publisher=Bloomberg|access-date=July 5, 2015|date=July 5, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705195539/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-04/reddit-restores-most-of-site-after-moderator-led-blackouts|archive-date=July 5, 2015|url-status=live}} Pao posted a response on July 3 as well as an extended version of it on July 6 in which she apologized for bad communication and not delivering on promises. She also apologized on behalf of the other administrators and noted that problems already existed over the past several years.[https://money.cnn.com/2015/07/06/technology/reddit-back-online-ellen-pao/index.html Reddit CEO Ellen Pao apologizes: 'We screwed up'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181212013340/https://money.cnn.com/2015/07/06/technology/reddit-back-online-ellen-pao/index.html |date=December 12, 2018 }} By Laurie Segall and Chris Isidore CNN July 6, 2015[https://www.foxnews.com/us/reddit-ceo-ellen-pao-issues-an-apology-for-the-direction-of-the-site/ Reddit CEO Ellen Pao Issues an Apology for the Direction of the Site] by Laura Entis FoxNews.com July 6, 2015{{cite magazine|url=https://time.com/3946934/reddit-ellen-pao-apology-petition/|title=Ellen Pao: Reddit CEO Apologizes After Petition for Her to Resign|author=Jack Linshi|magazine=Time|date=July 6, 2015|access-date=February 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626205551/http://time.com/3946934/reddit-ellen-pao-apology-petition/|archive-date=June 26, 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Titcomb|first1=James|title=Petition calling for Reddit boss Ellen Pao to resign hits 200,000 as she admits 'we screwed up'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/social-media/11722560/Petition-calling-for-Reddit-boss-Ellen-Pao-to-resign-hits-200000-target-as-she-admits-we-screwed-up.html|publisher=The Telegraph|access-date=July 7, 2015|date=July 7, 2015|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707234726/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/social-media/11722560/Petition-calling-for-Reddit-boss-Ellen-Pao-to-resign-hits-200000-target-as-she-admits-we-screwed-up.html|archive-date=July 7, 2015|url-status=live}} On July 10, Pao resigned as CEO and was replaced by former CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman.{{cite news|last1=Mike|first1=Isaac|title=Ellen Pao Is Stepping Down as Reddit's Chief|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/11/technology/ellen-pao-reddit-chief-executive-resignation.html?_r=0|access-date=July 10, 2015|website=The New York Times|date=July 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713011235/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/11/technology/ellen-pao-reddit-chief-executive-resignation.html?_r=0|archive-date=July 13, 2015|url-status=live}}

In August, Steve Huffman introduced a policy which led to the banning of several offensive and sexual communities. Included in the ban was lolicon, to which Huffman referred as "animated CP [child porn]".{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-bans-coontown-2015-8|title=Reddit finally bans its most infamous racist communities because they 'made recruiting here more difficult'|first=Matt|last=Weinberger|publisher=Business Insider|date=August 5, 2015|access-date=August 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820015825/http://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-bans-coontown-2015-8|archive-date=August 20, 2016|url-status=live}} Some subreddits had also been "quarantined" due to having "highly-offensive or upsetting content" such as r/European, r/swedenyes, r/drawpeople, r/kiketown, r/blackfathers, r/greatapes, and r/whitesarecriminals.{{cite web|url=https://reddit.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/205701245-Quarantined-Subreddits|title=Quarantined Subreddits|website=Reddit Help|access-date=June 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625220726/https://reddit.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/205701245-Quarantined-Subreddits|archive-date=June 25, 2016|url-status=live}}

File:Fuck spez.png to voice their discontent with Reddit CEO Steve Huffman.]]

{{Main|2023 Reddit API controversy}}

In April 2023, Reddit announced its intentions to charge large fees for its application programming interface (API), a feature of the site that has existed for free since 2008,{{Cite web |last=Shakir |first=Umar |date=April 18, 2023 |title=Reddit's upcoming API changes will make AI companies pony up |url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/18/23688463/reddit-developer-api-terms-change-monetization-ai |access-date=July 16, 2023 |website=The Verge |language=en-US}} causing an ongoing dispute. The move forced multiple third-party applications to shut down and threatened accessibility applications and moderation tools.{{Cite web |last=Peters |first=Jay |date=June 8, 2023 |title=It's not just Apollo: other Reddit apps are shutting down, too |url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/8/23754616/reddit-third-party-apps-api-shutdown-rif-reddplanet-sync |access-date=July 16, 2023 |website=The Verge |language=en-US}}

On May 31, Apollo developer Christian Selig stated that Reddit's pricing would force him to cease development on the app. The resulting outcry from the Reddit community ultimately led to a planned protest from June 12 to 14 in which moderators for the site would make their communities private or restricted posting.{{Cite web |last=Porter |first=Jon |date=June 5, 2023 |title=Major Reddit communities will go dark to protest threat to third-party apps |url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/5/23749188/reddit-subreddit-private-protest-api-changes-apollo-charges |access-date=July 16, 2023 |website=The Verge |language=en-US}} Following the release of an internal memo from Reddit CEO Steve Huffman and defiance from Reddit, some moderators have continued their protest.{{Cite web |last=IV |first=Antonio Pequeño |title=Reddit Blackout Rolls On For More Than 5,000 Subreddits Past Planned End Date—Some Of Which Plan To Stay Dark Indefinitely |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2023/06/15/reddit-blackout-rolls-on-for-more-than-5000-subreddits-past-planned-end-date-some-of-which-plan-to-stay-dark-indefinitely/ |access-date=July 16, 2023 |website=Forbes |language=en}}

Alternate forms of protest have emerged in the days following the initial blackout. Upon reopening, users of r/pics, r/gifs, and r/aww voted to exclusively post about comedian John Oliver.{{Cite web |last=Peters |first=Jay |date=June 17, 2023 |title=Three of the biggest Reddit communities reopened in the funniest way possible |url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/17/23764729/reddit-users-pics-gifs-subreddits-john-oliver |access-date=July 16, 2023 |website=The Verge |language=en-US}} Multiple subreddits labeled themselves as not safe for work (NSFW), affecting advertisements and resulting in administrators removing the entire moderation team of some subreddits.{{Cite web |last=Peters |first=Jay |date=June 21, 2023 |title=Reddit removed moderators behind the latest protests before restoring a few of them |url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/20/23767848/reddit-blackout-api-protest-moderators-suspended-nsfw |access-date=July 16, 2023 |website=The Verge |language=en-US}} The protest has been compared to a strike.{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/15/reddit-profits-goodwill-strike/ |title=Reddit followed Goodwill's playbook. Now Redditors are on strike. |date=June 15, 2023 |last=McArdle |first=Megan |author-link=Megan McArdle |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=June 17, 2023}}

/r/place had its third launch on July 20, 2023; however, the launch was heavily protested by users and developers due to the event following the 2023 Reddit API controversy; Reddit CEO Steve Huffman's decision to make it prohibitively expensive for third-party app developers drew widespread condemnation.{{Cite web |last=Peters |first=Jay |date=July 27, 2023 |title=Here's how to watch the evolution of Reddit's r/Place canvas — including its protest art |url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/26/23809338/reddit-r-place-canvas-timelapse-protest |access-date=October 18, 2023 |website=The Verge |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Binder |first=Matt |date=July 20, 2023 |title=Reddit relaunched r/Place public art canvas. Redditors immediately protest on it. |url=https://mashable.com/article/reddit-r-place-api-protests |access-date=October 18, 2023 |website=Mashable |language=en}}

{{See also|Controversial Reddit communities}}

In February 2017, Reddit banned the alt-right subreddit r/altright for violating its terms of service, more specifically for attempting to share private information about the man who attacked alt-right figure Richard B. Spencer.{{cite news |title=Reddit shuts down 'alt-right' subreddit |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/reddit-bans-alt-right-subreddit/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215114339/https://www.cnet.com/news/reddit-bans-alt-right-subreddit/ |archive-date=February 15, 2017 |access-date=February 15, 2017 |newspaper=CNET |language=en}}{{cite news |last=Resnick |first=Gideon |date=February 2, 2017 |title=Reddit Bans Alt-Right Group |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/02/01/reddit-bans-alt-right-group.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216044417/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/02/01/reddit-bans-alt-right-group.html |archive-date=February 16, 2017 |access-date=February 15, 2017 |newspaper=The Daily Beast}} The forum's users and moderators accused Reddit administrators of having political motivations for the ban.{{cite news |last=Weinberger |first=Matt |date=February 2, 2017 |title=Reddit bans a major alt-right community — and there may be a very good reason |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/why-reddit-banned-alt-right-2017-2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171130090857/http://www.businessinsider.com/why-reddit-banned-alt-right-2017-2 |archive-date=November 30, 2017 |access-date=February 18, 2019 |newspaper=Business Insider}}{{cite news |last=Hern |first=Alex |date=February 2, 2017 |title=Reddit bans far-right groups altright and alternativeright |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/feb/02/reddit-bans-far-right-groups-altright-alternativeright |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215115951/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/feb/02/reddit-bans-far-right-groups-altright-alternativeright |archive-date=February 15, 2017 |access-date=February 15, 2017 |newspaper=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

After the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, Reddit banned the subreddit r/DonaldTrump in response to repeated policy violations and alluding to the potential influence the community had on those who participated in or supported the storming.{{cite news |last1=Isaac |first1=Mike |last2=Conger |first2=Kate |date=January 8, 2021 |title=Reddit bans forum dedicated to supporting Trump, and Twitter permanently suspends his allies who spread conspiracy theories. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/us/politics/reddit-bans-forum-dedicated-to-supporting-trump-and-twitter-permanently-suspends-his-allies-who-spread-conspiracy-theories.html |url-access=limited |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/us/politics/reddit-bans-forum-dedicated-to-supporting-trump-and-twitter-permanently-suspends-his-allies-who-spread-conspiracy-theories.html |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |access-date=January 23, 2021 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}} The move followed similar actions from social media platforms, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok and more.{{cite web |last=Fischer |first=Sara |date=January 8, 2021 |title=Reddit bans subreddit group "r/DonaldTrump" |url=https://www.axios.com/reddit-bans-rdonaldtrump-subreddit-ff1da2de-37ab-49cf-afbd-2012f806959e.html |access-date=January 23, 2021 |website=Axios |language=en}} The ban was criticized by those who believed it furthered an agenda and censorship of conservative ideologies.{{cite web |last=Guynn |first=Jessica |title='They want to take your speech away,' censorship cry unites Trump supporters and extremists after Capitol attack |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2021/01/15/censorship-trump-extremists-facebook-twitter-social-media-capitol-riot/4178737001/ |access-date=January 23, 2021 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}} The subreddit had over 52,000 members just before it was banned.{{cite web |last=Reimann |first=Nicholas |title=Reddit Bans 'r/donaldtrump' Subreddit |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2021/01/08/reddit-bans-rdonaldtrump-subreddit/ |access-date=January 23, 2021 |website=Forbes |language=en}}

In May 2016, CEO Steve Huffman said in an interview at the TNW Conference that, unlike Facebook, which "only knows what [its users are] willing to declare publicly", Reddit knows its users' "dark secrets"{{cite web|url=https://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2016/05/30/reddit-knows-your-dark-secrets/|publisher=The Next Web (TNW)|date=May 30, 2016|title=Reddit CEO Steve Huffman: 'We know your dark secrets. We know everything.'|author=Boris van Zanten|access-date=February 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201161936/https://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2016/05/30/reddit-knows-your-dark-secrets/|archive-date=February 1, 2019|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/reddit-ceo-tells-users-we-8082550|title=Reddit CEO tells users 'we know your dark secrets' as he strikes fear into web surfers|work=Mirror|oclc=223228477|date=May 30, 2016|first=Jessica|last=Haworth|access-date=February 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181211145626/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/reddit-ceo-tells-users-we-8082550|archive-date=December 11, 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/scitech/report-reddit-ceo-steve-huffman-says-we-know-your-dark-secrets-2218420|work=Daily News and Analysis|date=May 31, 2016|title=Reddit CEO Steve Huffman says, "We know your dark secrets"|access-date=February 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018155043/http://www.dnaindia.com/scitech/report-reddit-ceo-steve-huffman-says-we-know-your-dark-secrets-2218420|archive-date=October 18, 2017|url-status=live}} at the same time that the website's "values" page was updated regarding its "privacy" section. The video reached the top of the website's main feed.{{cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/4lmfmj/ceo_of_reddit_steve_huffman_about_advertising_on/|title=CEO of Reddit, Steve Huffman, about advertising on Reddit: "We know all of your interests. Not only just your interests you are willing to declare publicly on Facebook – we know your dark secrets, we know everything" (TNW Conference, 26 May) (27,500 votes)|date=May 29, 2016|publisher=Reddit|access-date=February 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003214650/https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/4lmfmj/ceo_of_reddit_steve_huffman_about_advertising_on/|archive-date=October 3, 2018|url-status=live}} Shortly thereafter, announcements concerning new advertisement content drew criticism on the website.{{cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/4upf11/new_ad_type_promoted_user_posts/|title=New Ad Type: Promoted User Posts|publisher=Reddit (official announcement)|date=July 26, 2016|access-date=February 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222214323/https://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/4upf11/new_ad_type_promoted_user_posts/|archive-date=February 22, 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/4phzsi/sponsored_headline_tests_placement_and_design/|title=Sponsored headline tests: placement and design|date=June 23, 2016 |publisher=Reddit (official announcement)|access-date=February 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201192957/https://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/4phzsi/sponsored_headline_tests_placement_and_design/|archive-date=February 1, 2018|url-status=live}} In September, a user named "mormondocuments" released thousands of administrative documents belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an action driven by the ex-Mormon and atheist communities on Reddit. Previously, on April 22, the same user had announced his plans to do so. Church officials commented that the documents did not contain anything confidential.{{cite web|url=http://fox13now.com/2016/09/22/allegedly-secret-lds-church-documents-leaked/|title=Allegedly secret LDS Church documents leaked|last=Roth|first=Max|date=September 22, 2016|website=Fox 13 Now|publisher=Fox 13 Salt Lake|access-date=September 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160928052655/http://fox13now.com/2016/09/22/allegedly-secret-lds-church-documents-leaked/|archive-date=September 28, 2016|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://mashable.com/2016/09/26/former-mormons-reddit/|title=Inside the online world of ex-Mormons|last=Wenzke|first=Marissa|date=September 26, 2016|website=Mashable|access-date=September 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160930051802/http://mashable.com/2016/09/26/former-mormons-reddit/|archive-date=September 30, 2016|url-status=live}}

On November 23, Huffman admitted to having replaced his username with the names of r/The_Donald moderators in many insulting comments.{{cite news |last1=Yeung |first1=Ken |url=https://venturebeat.com/2016/11/23/reddit-ceo-apologizes-for-editing-comments-critical-of-him-following-pizzagate-ban/ |title=Reddit CEO apologizes for editing comments critical of him following Pizzagate ban |publisher=VentureBeat |access-date=November 24, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124161742/http://venturebeat.com/2016/11/23/reddit-ceo-apologizes-for-editing-comments-critical-of-him-following-pizzagate-ban/ |archive-date=November 24, 2016 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Russell |first1=Jon |title=Reddit CEO admits he secretly edited comments from Donald Trump supporters |url=https://techcrunch.com/2016/11/23/reddit-huffman-trump/ |publisher=Techcrunch |access-date=November 24, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124070150/https://techcrunch.com/2016/11/23/reddit-huffman-trump/ |archive-date=November 24, 2016 |url-status=live}} He did so by changing insulting comments made towards him and made it appear as if the insult were directed at the moderators of r/The_Donald.{{cite news|last1=Weingerger|first1=Matt|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-ceo-steve-huffman-modifies-donald-trump-the-donald-2016-11|access-date=November 24, 2016|publisher=Business Insider|title=The CEO of Reddit confessed to modifying posts from Trump supporters after they wouldn't stop sending him expletives|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124053421/http://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-ceo-steve-huffman-modifies-donald-trump-the-donald-2016-11|archive-date=November 24, 2016|url-status=live}} On November 24, The Washington Post reported Reddit had banned the "Pizzagate" conspiracy board from their site, stating it violated their policy of posting personal information of others, triggering a wave of criticism from users on r/The_Donald, who felt the ban amounted to censorship.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/11/23/fearing-yet-another-witch-hunt-reddit-bans-pizzagate/|title=Fearing yet another witch hunt, Reddit bans 'Pizzagate'|last=Ohlheiser|first=Abby|date=November 24, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|issn=0190-8286|oclc=2269358|access-date=November 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230234312/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/11/23/fearing-yet-another-witch-hunt-reddit-bans-pizzagate/|archive-date=December 30, 2016|url-status=live}} After the forum was banned from Reddit, the words "we don't want witchhunts on our site" now appears on the former page of the Pizzagate subreddit.{{Cite news |last=Blake |first=Andrew |date=November 25, 2016 |title=Reddit CEO admits editing posts, directing obscene comments to pro-Trump administrators |work=Washington Times |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/nov/25/reddit-ceo-admits-editing-posts-directing-obscene-/ |url-status=live |access-date=November 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161126053153/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/nov/25/reddit-ceo-admits-editing-posts-directing-obscene-/ |archive-date=November 26, 2016 |issn=0732-8494 |oclc=8472624}}{{cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/pizzagate|title=Pizzagate subreddit webpage|date=November 23, 2016|website=Reddit|access-date=November 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122234401/https://www.reddit.com/r/pizzagate/|archive-date=November 22, 2016}}

On November 30, Huffman announced changes to the algorithm of Reddit's r/all page to block "stickied" posts from a number of subreddits, such as r/The_Donald. In the announcement, he also apologized for personally editing posts by users from r/The_Donald, and declared intentions to take actions against "hundreds of the most toxic users" of Reddit and "communities whose users continually cross the line".{{cite news |last1=Ohlheiser |first1=Abby |date=November 30, 2016 |title=Reddit will limit the reach of a pro-Trump board and crack down on its 'most toxic users' |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/11/30/reddit-will-limit-the-reach-of-a-pro-trump-board-and-crack-down-on-its-most-toxic-users/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170114114339/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/11/30/reddit-will-limit-the-reach-of-a-pro-trump-board-and-crack-down-on-its-most-toxic-users/ |archive-date=January 14, 2017 |issn=0190-8286 |oclc=2269358}}{{cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/5frg1n/tifu_by_editing_some_comments_and_creating_an/|title=TIFU by editing some comments and creating an unnecessary controversy.|last=Huffman|first=Steve|date=November 30, 2016|website=Reddit|access-date=November 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130192054/https://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/5frg1n/tifu_by_editing_some_comments_and_creating_an/|archive-date=November 30, 2016|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Reddit moves against 'toxic' Trump fans|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-38165435|work=BBC News|access-date=December 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201001207/http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-38165435|archive-date=December 1, 2016|url-status=live|date=November 30, 2016|last1=Lee|first1=Dave}}

In March 2018, it was revealed that Huffman had hidden Russian troll activity from users.{{cite news |last1=Collins |first1=Ben |date=March 6, 2018 |title=Reddit Rises Up Against CEO for Hiding Russian Trolls |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/reddit-rises-up-against-ceo-for-hiding-russian-trolls |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306010429/https://www.thedailybeast.com/reddit-rises-up-against-ceo-for-hiding-russian-trolls |archive-date=March 6, 2018 |access-date=March 6, 2018 |newspaper=The Daily Beast}}

In February 2019, Chinese company Tencent invested $150 million into Reddit.{{cite web |last=Constine |first=Josh |date=February 11, 2019 |title=Reddit confirms $300M Series D led by China's Tencent at $3B value |url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/11/reddit-300-million/ |access-date=September 30, 2019 |website=TechCrunch}}{{cite web |last=Osborne |first=Charlie |date=February 11, 2019 |title=Winnie The Pooh takes over Reddit due to Chinese investment, censorship fears |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/reddit-explodes-over-potential-tencent-investment-censorship-concerns/ |access-date=September 30, 2019 |website=ZDNet}} This resulted in a large backlash from Reddit users, who were worried about potential censorship.{{cite web |date=February 11, 2019 |title=Reddit: Censorship fears spark criticism of Tencent funding reports |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47194096 |access-date=September 30, 2019 |website=BBC News}}{{cite magazine |last=Law |first=Tara |date=February 11, 2019 |title=Chinese Company's Reddit Investment Angers Users Who Fear Censorship |url=https://time.com/5526128/china-reddit-tencent-censorship/ |access-date=September 30, 2019 |magazine=Time}}{{cite web |last=Verhage |first=Julie |date=February 11, 2019 |title=China's Tencent Invests in Reddit, Sparking Free Speech Protests |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-11/china-s-tencent-invests-in-reddit-sparking-free-speech-protests |access-date=September 30, 2019 |website=Bloomberg}} Many posts featuring subjects censored in China, such as Tiananmen Square, Tank Man, and Winnie the Pooh, received popularity on Reddit.{{cite web |last=Liao |first=Shannon |date=February 11, 2019 |title=Reddit gets a $150 million investment from Tencent and users are posting memes to mock the deal |url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/11/18216134/reddit-tencent-investment-deal-memes-amount-winnie-the-pooh-tank-man-china |access-date=September 30, 2019 |website=The Verge}}

In late August 2021, more than 70 subreddits went private to protest against COVID-19 misinformation on Reddit, as well as Reddit's refusal to delete subreddits undermining the severity of the pandemic.{{cite web |last=Porterfield |first=Carlie |title=Dozens Of Subreddits Go Private To Protest Reddit's Covid Disinformation Policy |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/08/30/dozens-of-subreddits-go-private-to-protest-reddits-covid-disinformation-policy/ |access-date=August 31, 2021 |website=Forbes |language=en}}{{cite web |date=September 1, 2021 |title=Reddit communities 'go dark' in protest over Covid misinformation |url=http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/sep/01/reddit-communities-go-dark-in-protest-over-covid-misinformation |access-date=September 1, 2021 |website=The Guardian |language=en}} A 2021 letter from the United States Senate to Reddit CEO Steve Huffman expressed concern about the spread of COVID-19 misinformation on the platform.

In January 2025, over 100 Reddit communities banned users from posting links from the X social media site after Elon Musk, its CEO, made an arm gesture at a speech which critics claimed was a Nazi salute.{{cite web | last=Gerken | first=Tom | title=Over 100 Reddit groups ban X links in protest at Musk arm gesture | website=BBC News | date=2025-01-23 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c77r1p887e5o.amp | access-date=2025-01-31}} The Verge reported that Musk had "privately pressur[ed]" the CEO of Reddit Steve Huffman to moderate content critical of him and the Trump administration, and that after their exchange, Reddit took action and temporarily banned r/WhitePeopleTwitter due to "policy violations".{{cite web |last1=Heath |first1=Alex |title=Elon Musk pressured Reddit’s CEO on content moderation |url=https://www.theverge.com/command-line-newsletter/637083/elon-musk-reddit-ceo-content-moderation |website=The Verge |date=27 March 2025}}{{cite web |last1=Novak |first1=Matt |title=Elon Musk Pressured Reddit CEO During Moderator Revolt Over Nazi-Style Salute: Report |url=https://gizmodo.com/elon-musk-pressured-reddit-ceo-during-moderator-revolt-over-nazi-style-salute-report-2000581612 |website=Gizmodo |date=27 March 2025}}

On March 5, 2025, Reddit announced that they will be issuing warnings to users who upvote "violent content", and "may consider" taking other actions against the users. The Verge reported two days later that Reddit's automatic moderation tool has been flagging the word "Luigi" as "potentially violent", including in comments or context unrelated to Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO. The moderator of r/popculture, a subreddit with over 125,000 members, stated that Reddit's AutoModerator system flagged a comment about Luigi's Mansion because it included the word "Luigi", and instructed them to "check for violence"; other comments that mentioned "Luigi", even in non-violent context, were also flagged.{{cite web |last1=Sato |first1=Mia |title=A Reddit moderation tool is flagging ‘Luigi’ as potentially violent content |url=https://www.theverge.com/news/626139/reddit-luigi-mangione-automod-tool |website=The Verge |date=7 March 2025}}{{cite web |last1=Pahwa |first1=Nitish |title=Reddit Is Restricting Luigi Mangione Discourse—but It’s Even Weirder Than That |url=https://slate.com/technology/2025/03/reddit-elon-musk-luigi-mangione-censorship.html |website=Slate |access-date=14 March 2025 |date=13 March 2025}}

On July 12, 2018, the creator and head moderator of the GamerGate subreddit, r/KotakuInAction, removed all of the moderators and set the forum to private, alleging it to have become "infested with racism and sexism". A Reddit employee restored the forum and its moderators an hour later.{{cite news |date=July 14, 2018 |title=Opinions Are Split On The Attempt To Shut Down Popular Subreddit r/KotakuInAction [Opinion] |url=https://www.inquisitr.com/opinion/4985599/opinions-are-split-on-the-attempt-to-shut-down-popular-subreddit-r-kotakuinaction/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717125028/https://www.inquisitr.com/opinion/4985599/opinions-are-split-on-the-attempt-to-shut-down-popular-subreddit-r-kotakuinaction/ |archive-date=July 17, 2018 |access-date=July 17, 2018 |work=The Inquisitr |language=en-US}}{{cite news |title=Reddit employee saves GamerGate subreddit, KotakuInAction, after founder closes it |url=https://www.polygon.com/2018/7/13/17568556/kotakuinaction-reddit-mod-shut-down-administrator |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716170635/https://www.polygon.com/2018/7/13/17568556/kotakuinaction-reddit-mod-shut-down-administrator |archive-date=July 16, 2018 |access-date=July 17, 2018 |work=Polygon}}

During the George Floyd protests in early June 2020, over 800 moderators signed an open letter demanding a policy banning hate speech, a shutdown of racist and sexist subreddits, and more employee support for moderation. Bloomberg News pointed out the company's slow reaction to r/watchpeopledie, a subreddit dedicated to videos of people dying in accidents and other situations, and the harassment that accompanied new unmoderated features like icons for purchase and public chats.{{cite web |url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Racism-is-rampant-on-Reddit-and-its-editors-are-15348902.php |title=Racism is rampant on Reddit, and its editors are in open revolt |date=June 18, 2020 |website=SFGate}}

On June 29, 2020, Reddit updated its content policy and introduced rules aimed at curbing the presence of communities they believed to be "promoting hate",{{cite web |url=http://reddit.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360045715951 |title=Promoting Hate Based on Identity or Vulnerability |website=Reddit Help |date=July 13, 2020}} and banned approximately 2,000 subreddits that were found to be in violation of the new guidelines on the same day.{{cite web |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/hi3oht/update_to_our_content_policy/ |title=Update to Our Content Policy |website=reddit |date=June 29, 2020}} Larger subreddits affected by the bans included r/The_Donald,{{cite news |last=Lima |first=Cristiano |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/29/reddit-bans-pro-trump-forum-in-crackdown-on-hate-speech-344698 |title=Reddit bans pro-Trump forum in crackdown on hate speech |work=Politico |date=June 29, 2020 |access-date=June 29, 2020}} r/GenderCritical{{cite web |title=Reddit bans r/The_Donald and r/ChapoTrapHouse as part of a major expansion of its rules |url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/29/21304947/reddit-ban-subreddits-the-donald-chapo-trap-house-new-content-policy-rules |website=The Verge|date=June 29, 2020 }} (the platform's largest and most active anti-transgender radical feminist subreddit),{{cite web|url=https://4w.pub/reddit-bans-feminist-sub-r-gendercritical/|title=Reddit Bans Feminist Sub r/GenderCritical|date=June 29, 2020|website=4W – A Feminist Publication}} and r/ChapoTrapHouse (a far-left subreddit originally created by fans of the podcast Chapo Trap House). Some media outlets and political commentators also condemned the banning of the r/The_Donald and r/ChapoTrapHouse subreddits as a violation of the right to free political expression.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv9Yr4_TJgk |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/bv9Yr4_TJgk |archive-date=December 19, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Saagar and Ryan Grim: Reddit's OUTRAGEOUS BAN of pro-Trump, Chapo trap house subreddits|date=June 30, 2020|work=The Hill|via=YouTube|access-date=October 15, 2020}}{{cbignore}}

In February 2013, Betabeat published a post that recognized the influx of multinational corporations like Costco, Taco Bell, Subaru, and McDonald's posting branded content on Reddit that was made to appear as if it was original content from legitimate Reddit users.{{cite web |last=Holiday |first=Ryan |author-link=Ryan Holiday |date=February 21, 2013 |title=Hail Corporate: The Increasingly Insufferable Fakery of Brands on Reddit |url=http://betabeat.com/2013/02/hail-corporate-the-increasingly-insufferable-fakery-of-brands-on-reddit/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141230134914/http://betabeat.com/2013/02/hail-corporate-the-increasingly-insufferable-fakery-of-brands-on-reddit/ |archive-date=December 30, 2014 |publisher=Betabeat}} PAN Communications wrote that marketers want to "infiltrate the reddit community on behalf of their brand," but emphasized that "self-promotion is frowned upon" and Reddit's former director of communications noted that the site is "100 percent organic."{{cite web |date=May 21, 2014 |title=Victoria Taylor Tells PAN how Reddit Stays Genuine and What That Means for Marketers |url=http://blog.prspeak.com/blog/prspeak/2014/05/how-reddit-stays-genuine-and-what-that-means-for-marketers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703144215/http://blog.prspeak.com/blog/prspeak/2014/05/how-reddit-stays-genuine-and-what-that-means-for-marketers |archive-date=July 3, 2015 |publisher=PAN communications}}{{cite web |date=October 28, 2013 |title=On Reddit, Unlike Other Social Sites, It's About the Topic, Not the Brand |url=http://www.prnewsonline.com/topics/social-media/2013/10/28/on-reddit-unlike-other-social-sites-its-about-the-topic-not-the-brand/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705072000/http://www.prnewsonline.com/topics/social-media/2013/10/28/on-reddit-unlike-other-social-sites-its-about-the-topic-not-the-brand/ |archive-date=July 5, 2015 |website=PR News |quote=Brands that are mentioned on the site are in a casual context, similar to being in a local bar or coffee shop, rather than a mall, which is much more of a commercial space}}{{cite web |date=September 3, 2014 |title=To Learn About reddit, Listen First |url=http://www.digitalgov.gov/2014/09/03/to-learn-about-reddit-listen-first/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160618125107/https://www.digitalgov.gov/2014/09/03/to-learn-about-reddit-listen-first/ |archive-date=June 18, 2016 |access-date=July 6, 2015 |quote=Victoria Taylor, director of communications at reddit, said the point of posting to reddit is not to have content go viral; it is to build credibility}}{{cite web |date=May 20, 2014 |title=Social Media and Journalism: An Intrinsically Linked Organism |url=https://www.brandwatch.com/2014/05/social-media-journalism-intrinsically-linked-organism/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629120418/https://www.brandwatch.com/2014/05/social-media-journalism-intrinsically-linked-organism/ |archive-date=June 29, 2016 |access-date=July 6, 2015 |website=Brandwatch |quote=The communities on Reddit don't want to feel used or exploited. That's where listening comes in.}} She recommended that advertisers design promotions that "spark conversations and feedback."{{cite news |date=October 22, 2014 |title=The Real Low-Down From Reddit |url=http://www.techaffect.com/2014/10/22/the-real-low-down-from-reddit/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20160702111842/http://www.techaffect.com/2014/10/22/the-real-low-down-from-reddit/ |archive-date=July 2, 2016 |website=Tech Affect}} She recommended that businesses use AMAs to get attention for public figures but cautioned "It is important to approach AMAs carefully and be aware that this may not be a fit for every project or client."{{cite web |author=Carrie Fung |date=September 13, 2013 |title=When the Narwhal Bacons and Why it Matters to PR Pros |url=http://engagepr.com/blog/when-the-narwhal-bacons-and-why-it-matters-to-pr-pros/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705071124/http://engagepr.com/blog/when-the-narwhal-bacons-and-why-it-matters-to-pr-pros/ |archive-date=July 5, 2015 |website=EngagePR blog}} Nissan ran a successful branded content promotion offering users free gifts to publicize a new car,{{cite news |date=November 21, 2013 |title=Nissan Buys Gifts for Redditors – and Some Love for Itself |url=http://digiday.com/brands/nissan-reddit/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309222813/http://digiday.com/brands/nissan-reddit/ |archive-date=March 9, 2016 |access-date=July 6, 2015 |website=Digday |quote=Victoria Taylor, reddit's director of communications, told Digiday that Nissan's reddit adventure was one of the best campaigns the site has seen in a long time. "The community really responded well to the two community managers"}}{{cite news |date=February 3, 2014 |title=Cheatsheet: How brands can win reddit |url=http://digiday.com/brands/brands-reddit/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160628234035/http://digiday.com/brands/brands-reddit/ |archive-date=June 28, 2016 |access-date=July 6, 2015 |website=Digday |quote="Going into it, we are honest with advertisers that redditors are opinionated," said Victoria Taylor, reddit's director of communications. "Anywhere you have opinions, people are going to have a dialog and disagree." Advertisers have to be willing to engage honestly — and cleverly — with the reddit community to win their trust.}} though the company was later ridiculed for suspected astroturfing when the CEO only answered puff piece questions on the site.{{cite news |date=January 14, 2015 |title=Nissan, Reddit defend authenticity of questions in Ghosn AMA |url=http://www.prweek.com/article/1329327/nissan-reddit-defend-authenticity-questions-ghosn-ama |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414170825/http://www.prweek.com/article/1329327/nissan-reddit-defend-authenticity-questions-ghosn-ama |archive-date=April 14, 2016 |access-date=July 6, 2015 |website=PR Week |quote=While Taylor said it's a positive that users demand authenticity, transparency, and accountability on Reddit, she noted that "it's unfortunate that people tend to try to look for negative examples." She admitted that the AMA with Nissan was not the most successful edition the platform has had... Reddit, she said, will always be "open and transparent if something doesn't seem genuine."}}{{cite news |date=March 3, 2015 |title=Walking a fine line as a communicator on Reddit |url=http://muckrack.com/daily/2015/03/03/walking-a-fine-line-as-a-communicator-on-reddit/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706174727/http://muckrack.com/daily/2015/03/03/walking-a-fine-line-as-a-communicator-on-reddit/ |archive-date=July 6, 2015 |access-date=July 6, 2015 |website=Muck Rack}} Taylor described these situations as "high risk" noting: "We try hard to educate people that they have to treat questions that may seem irreverent or out of left field the same as they would questions about the specific project they are promoting."{{cite web |date=April 4, 2014 |title=Reddit AMAs: A minefield worth crossing |url=http://www.prweek.com/article/1289013/reddit-amas-minefield-worth-crossing |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414230228/http://www.prweek.com/article/1289013/reddit-amas-minefield-worth-crossing |archive-date=April 14, 2016 |access-date=July 6, 2015 |website=PR Week}}

In March 2021, Reddit users discovered that Aimee Challenor, an English politician who had been suspended from two UK political parties, was hired as an administrator for the site. Her first suspension from the Green Party came for retaining her father as her campaign manager after his arrest on child sexual abuse charges. She was later suspended from the Liberal Democrats after tweets describing pedophilic fantasies were discovered on her partner's Twitter account. Reddit banned a moderator for posting a news article which mentioned Challenor, and some Reddit users alleged that Reddit were removing all mention of Challenor. Many subreddits, including r/Music, which had 27{{nbsp}}million subscribers, and 46 other subreddits with over 1{{nbsp}}million subscribers, went private in protest.{{cite web|url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/reddit-subs-private-admin-suspending-mentions/|last=Goforth|first=Claire|date=March 24, 2021|work=The Daily Dot|title=Massive subs all go private to protest Reddit's hiring of a pedophile 'enabler'|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210324170201/https://www.dailydot.com/debug/reddit-subs-private-admin-suspending-mentions/|archive-date=March 24, 2021|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last=Tamburro|first=Paul|date=March 24, 2021|title=Reddit's most popular subreddits go private in protest against 'censorship'|url=https://www.gamerevolution.com/news/677190-reddit-private-community-aimee-challenor-censorship|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210324142939/https://www.gamerevolution.com/news/677190-reddit-private-community-aimee-challenor-censorship|archive-date=March 24, 2021|website=GameRevolution|access-date=March 24, 2021}}{{cite web|last=Robertson|first=Adi|date=March 24, 2021|title=Major subreddits are going dark to protest Reddit allegedly hiring a controversial UK politician|url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/24/22348255/reddit-moderator-blackout-protest-aimee-knight-uk-green-party|access-date=March 24, 2021|website=The Verge|language=en}}{{cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/social-platform-in-reddit-censorship-row-over-spectator-article-g82fxjhcm|title=Social platform in Reddit censorship row over Spectator article|work=The Times|last=Knowles|first=Tom|date=March 25, 2021|access-date=March 25, 2021}} On March 24, Reddit's CEO Steve Huffman said that Challenor had been inadequately vetted before being hired and that Reddit would review its relevant internal processes. Huffman attributed user suspensions to over-indexing on anti-harassment measures. Challenor was also removed from her role as a Reddit admin.{{cite web|last=Eccleston|first=Ben|date=March 25, 2021 |title=Coventry activist Aimee Challenor removed from Reddit role following backlash|url=https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/coventry-activist-aimee-challenor-removed-20255359 |website=CoventryLive|language=en |access-date=April 29, 2021}}

The GameStop short squeeze was primarily organized on the subreddit r/wallstreetbets in January 2021.{{cite news |last1=Phillips |first1=Matt |last2=Lorenz |first2=Taylor |date=January 27, 2021 |title='Dumb Money' Is on GameStop, and It's Beating Wall Street at Its Own Game |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/27/business/gamestop-wall-street-bets.html |url-access=limited |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/27/business/gamestop-wall-street-bets.html |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |access-date=January 29, 2021 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}

In October 2023, Reddit Moons (a site-specific cryptocurrency launched in May 2020) had seen a surge of value in 2023, at one point in mid-2023 rising past 50 cents per moon, but it crashed by more than 90% after it was announced on October 17 that the token would be "wound down" on November 8, allegedly due to scaling and regulatory issues; Reddit-centric coins DONUT and BRICK also crashed upon the news.{{Cite news |date=October 18, 2023 |title=Reddit ends its blockchain Community program, leads to MOON, BRICK & DONUT crashing |url=https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/reddit-ends-its-blockchain-community-program-leads-to-moon-brick-donut-crashing-202310180034 |access-date=October 18, 2023 |website=FXStreet}}

In June 2023, The BlackCat hacker gang claimed responsibility for a February 2023 breach of Reddit's systems. On its data leak site, it claimed that it stole 80 GB of compressed data and demanded a $4.5 million ransom from Reddit. This attack did not involve data encryption like typical ransomware campaigns.{{Cite web |title=The Week in Ransomware - June 23rd 2023 - The Reddit Files |url=https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/the-week-in-ransomware-june-23rd-2023-the-reddit-files/ |access-date=July 25, 2023 |website=BleepingComputer |language=en-us |archive-date=July 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725161534/https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/the-week-in-ransomware-june-23rd-2023-the-reddit-files/ |url-status=live }}

In September 2024, the Federal Trade Commission released a report summarizing nine company responses (including from Reddit) to orders made by the agency pursuant to Section 6(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 to provide information about user and non-user data collection (including of children and teenagers) and data use by the companies that found that the companies' user and non-user data practices put individuals vulnerable to identity theft, stalking, unlawful discrimination, emotional distress and mental health issues, social stigma, and reputational harm.{{cite news|last=Tolentino|first=Daysia|date=September 19, 2024|title=Social media companies engaged in 'vast surveillance,' FTC finds, calling status quo 'unacceptable'|publisher=NBC News|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/social-media-companies-engaged-vast-surveillance-ftc-finds-calling-sta-rcna171814|access-date=September 21, 2024}}{{cite news|last=Del Valle|first=Gaby|date=September 19, 2024|title=The FTC says social media companies can't be trusted to regulate themselves|website=The Verge|publisher=Vox Media|url=https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/19/24249073/ftc-data-retention-privacy-report-facebook-meta-youtube-reddit|access-date=September 21, 2024}}{{cite report|title=A Look Behind the Screens: Examining the Data Practices of Social Media and Video Streaming Services|year=2024|publisher=Federal Trade Commission|url=https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/Social-Media-6b-Report-9-11-2024.pdf|access-date=September 21, 2024}}

{{Portal|Internet}}

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}

• Crowdsourcing
• Internet culture
• Social bookmarking
• Unidan
• Usenet
• Web 2.0

{{div col end}}

{{div col|colwidth=15em}}

• Baidu Tieba
• Delicious (del.icio.us)
• Digg
• Diigo
• Fark
• Hacker News
• Imzy
• Lemmy
• LIHKG
• MetaFilter
• Pikabu
• PTT Bulletin Board System
• Slashdot
• Stack Exchange
• Steemit
• StumbleUpon
• Tal Canal
• Voat

{{div col end}}

{{Reflist|group=notes}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{Cite journal |last=Forestal |first=Jennifer |date=January 2021 |orig-date=December 3, 2020 (published online) |title=Beyond Gatekeeping: Propaganda, Democracy, and the Organization of Digital Publics |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/709300 |url-access=subscription |journal=The Journal of Politics |volume=83 |issue=1 |pages=306–320 |doi=10.1086/709300|s2cid=216325883 }}

{{Sister project links |wikt=no |commons=Reddit |commonscat=yes |n=Reddit |q=no |s=no |b=no |v=Reddit for learning |d=Q1136}}

• {{Official website}}

{{Finance links

| name = Reddit, Inc.

| symbol = RDDT

| reuters = RDDT.N

| bloomberg = RDDT:US

| sec_cik = 1713445

| yahoo = RDDT

| google = RDDT:NYSE

}}

• {{Onion URL|reddittorjg6rue252oqsxryoxengawnmo46qy4kyii5wtqnwfj4ooad}}
• [https://www.stitcher.com/show/how-i-built-this/episode/live-episode-reddit-alexis-ohanian-steve-huffman-51300688 "Live Episode! Reddit: Alexis Ohanian & Steve Huffman"]—How I Built This (audio interview with founders)
• {{Subreddit|reddit}}

{{Reddit|}}

{{Advance Publications}}

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