Reddit's I.P.O. Is a Content Moderation Success Story
Thursday, March 21, 2024
The site’s journey from toxic cesspool to trusted news source illustrates the business value of keeping bad actors at bay.
Elon Musk and other MAGA wingnuts decry moderation as censorship, but:
- Only Nazis and trolls want to be on a platform with Nazis and trolls. Fortunately there still aren’t a lot of Nazis out there—not enough to sustain a big business. I don’t like being on platforms with political scolds; that’s true even when the scolds agree with my politics.
- Even Nazis and trolls don’t want to be on a platform that’s only Nazis and trolls.
- Moderation is arguably the business that social media platforms sell. They’re selling access to a pleasant place for people to visit. (This observation is not original to me, or, I think to Roose—at least it’s not a point he’s making in this article.)
That said, Reddit is not a business success. It’s 15 years old and still hasn’t made a profit.
And since the summer crackdown, Reddit’s volunteer-led forums are seeming exploitative. Reddit no longer seems to be operating in good faith—if it ever was.