Reddit

Reddit
	Logo used since November 2023
Type of business	Private
Type of site	Social news
Available in	Multilingual
Founded	June 23, 2005; 19 years ago
Headquarters	San Francisco, California, U.S.
No. of locations	5
Area served	Worldwide, except for Indonesia (without DNS) and China
Owner	Advance Publications (30%); Tencent (5%)
Founder(s)	Aaron Swartz; Alexis Ohanian; Steve Huffman;
Key people	Steve Huffman (CEO); Jen Wong (COO); Drew Vollero (CFO); Christopher Slowe (Chief technology officer, CTO);
Industry	Social media service;
Employees	2,000 (June 2023)
Parent	Reddit Inc.
URL	www.reddit.com ; redditinc.com (corporate);
Advertising	Banner ads and promoted links
Commercial	Yes
Registration	Optional
Users	70 million (Oct 2023) daily active users
Current status	Active
Written in	Go; Python; JavaScript;

Reddit (/ˌrɛˈdɪt/) is a website where online users share links to online articles and other media.

Overview

Reddit is a forum made up of user-generated content and discussion boards. It is organized into subreddits, communities within which discussions take place. The links being shared can be voted on, while links with the highest number of votes are shown on the front page, sometimes known as the instant feed, of the forum.

History

Reddit was founded in 2005 by Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian, and is also available in other languages. Some Reddit users call themselves redditors, while subreddit moderators mods.^[8] Subreddits are directed towards all sort of things, like education, being funny, cute pictures of animals, internet memes etc.

Subreddits

Discussions on Reddit are organized into user-created areas of interest called "subreddits", with individual moderators (any user can be one) holding sweeping powers to ban users and dictate content with a range of tools, particularly automated filters.^[9]

Controversies

Reddit has been a subject of controversy as it has many subreddits run by those distributing disinformation and explicit materials, including subreddits r/Creepshots, r/jailbait, and r/greenandpleasant.^[10]^[11] Reddit has also been long been criticized for uncontrolled antisemitism.^[12] Antisemites, especially Holocaust deniers,^[13] across the political spectrum are active on Reddit.^[12]

On February 20, 2025, independent journalists announced their findings that over 110 subreddits were controlled by around 30 users who took advantage of the forum's loopholes to systematically distribute antisemitic disinformation for terrorist groups.^[9]^[14] The methods involve "vote brigading, subreddit moderation, and content manipulation".^[9]

Reportedly, the compromised subreddits include r/Documentaries (20M members), r/therewasanattempt (7.2M), r/PublicFreakout (4.7M), r/Fauxmoi (4.3M), r/MorbidReality (1.1M), r/ToiletPaperUSA (440K), r/Thatsactuallyverycool (277K), r/Palestine (270K), r/ENLIGHTENEDCENTRISM (184K) and r/boringdystopia (94K),^[9] from which misinformation was funnelled to smaller subreddits and beyond Reddit to influence public opinion,^[9] while alerts to the company were repeatedly ignored.^[9]

Notes

↑ The site's display interface is available in several common languages, but most of its user-submitted content is written in English with no built-in translation feature. Individual subreddits may opt to cater to a specific language, only allowing posts and comments to be in that language.
↑ Reddit can be viewed without an account but registration is required to submit, comment or vote. Registration is also occasionally required to view posts marked as Not safe for work (NSFW).
↑ Previously written in Lisp, then rewritten in Python in 2005.

References

↑ "What languages is Reddit available in?". Reddit Help.
↑ "Reddit on June 23-05". December 5, 2006. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
↑ Goswami, Rohan (June 1, 2023). "Reddit will charge hefty fees to the many third-party apps that access its data". CNBC.
↑ Kelly, Keith (June 16, 2023). "Condé Nast's hold on Reddit slips but Newhouse family has cushion". New York Post.
↑ Ludlow, Edward (June 6, 2023). "Reddit joins the tech layoff trend by cutting 5% of its staff amid a stalled IPO and effort to stop losing money". Fortune. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
↑ "Homepage - Reddit". www.redditinc.com.
↑ "Seeing the forest in the trees: two years of technology changes in one post". Reddit. January 17, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
↑ "About Reddit". Retrieved August 17, 2015.
↑ ^9.0 ^9.1 ^9.2 ^9.3 ^9.4 ^9.5 "The Terrorist Propaganda to Reddit Pipeline". Pirate Wire. February 20, 2025. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
↑ Morris, Kevin (October 11, 2011). "What r/jailbait's closure really means". Reditor Blog. Archived from the original on November 19, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
↑ Chen, Adrian (October 12, 2012). "Unmasking Reddit's Violentacrez, The Biggest Troll on the Web". Gawker. Archived from the original on October 12, 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
↑ ^12.0 ^12.1
- "Reddit Shuts Down Some Racist, Anti-Semitic Web Forums". Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). October 27, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- "'Racism is fine on our site,' says Reddit's chief executive". Sky News. April 12, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- "Combating racism on social media: 5 key insights on bystander intervention". Brookings. December 1, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- "A moderator of one of the biggest Kanye West internet forums says the page has been a 'bloodbath' since the rapper's descent into antisemitism and conspiracy theories". Business Insider. November 16, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
- "Holocaust denial finds new life in Oct. 7 revisionism". The Jerusalem Post. January 22, 2024. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
↑
- Breit, Johannes (July 20, 2018). "How One of the Internet's Biggest History Forums Deals With Holocaust Deniers". Slate. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
- "The AskHistorians Subreddit Banned Holocaust Deniers, and Facebook Should Too | Slate". MediaWell. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
- "History under attack: Holocaust denial and distortion on social media". UNESDOC Digital Library. 2022. doi:10.54675/MLSL4494. ISBN 978-92-3-100531-2. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
- "Antisemitism Resurgent: Manifestations of Antisemitism in the 21st Century". Counter Extremism Project. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
- Lubet, Steven (September 10, 2024). "Why Is the New York Times Legitimizing a Holocaust Denier?". The Bulwark. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
↑ The Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

This short article about technology can be made longer. You can help Wikipedia by adding to it.

[1] The site's display interface is available in several common languages, but most of its user-submitted content is written in English with no built-in translation feature. Individual subreddits may opt to cater to a specific language, only allowing posts and comments to be in that language.

[7] Reddit can be viewed without an account but registration is required to submit, comment or vote. Registration is also occasionally required to view posts marked as Not safe for work (NSFW).

[10] Previously written in Lisp, then rewritten in Python in 2005.

[2] "What languages is Reddit available in?". Reddit Help.

[3] "Reddit on June 23-05". December 5, 2006. Retrieved August 28, 2014.

[4] Goswami, Rohan (June 1, 2023). "Reddit will charge hefty fees to the many third-party apps that access its data". CNBC.

[5] Kelly, Keith (June 16, 2023). "Condé Nast's hold on Reddit slips but Newhouse family has cushion". New York Post.

[6] Ludlow, Edward (June 6, 2023). "Reddit joins the tech layoff trend by cutting 5% of its staff amid a stalled IPO and effort to stop losing money". Fortune. Retrieved June 9, 2023.

[8] "Homepage - Reddit". www.redditinc.com.

[9] "Seeing the forest in the trees: two years of technology changes in one post". Reddit. January 17, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.

[11] "About Reddit". Retrieved August 17, 2015.

[PWFeb2025-12] 9.0 ^9.1 ^9.2 ^9.3 ^9.4 ^9.5 "The Terrorist Propaganda to Reddit Pipeline". Pirate Wire. February 20, 2025. Retrieved February 21, 2025.

[13] Morris, Kevin (October 11, 2011). "What r/jailbait's closure really means". Reditor Blog. Archived from the original on November 19, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2012.

[14] Chen, Adrian (October 12, 2012). "Unmasking Reddit's Violentacrez, The Biggest Troll on the Web". Gawker. Archived from the original on October 12, 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2012.

[Issues-15] 12.0 ^12.1
"Reddit Shuts Down Some Racist, Anti-Semitic Web Forums". Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). October 27, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2024.

"'Racism is fine on our site,' says Reddit's chief executive". Sky News. April 12, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2024.

"Combating racism on social media: 5 key insights on bystander intervention". Brookings. December 1, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2024.

"A moderator of one of the biggest Kanye West internet forums says the page has been a 'bloodbath' since the rapper's descent into antisemitism and conspiracy theories". Business Insider. November 16, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2024.

"Holocaust denial finds new life in Oct. 7 revisionism". The Jerusalem Post. January 22, 2024. Retrieved December 5, 2024.

[16] "Reddit Shuts Down Some Racist, Anti-Semitic Web Forums". Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). October 27, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2024.

[17] "'Racism is fine on our site,' says Reddit's chief executive". Sky News. April 12, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2024.

[18] "Combating racism on social media: 5 key insights on bystander intervention". Brookings. December 1, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2024.

[19] "A moderator of one of the biggest Kanye West internet forums says the page has been a 'bloodbath' since the rapper's descent into antisemitism and conspiracy theories". Business Insider. November 16, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2024.

[20] "Holocaust denial finds new life in Oct. 7 revisionism". The Jerusalem Post. January 22, 2024. Retrieved December 5, 2024.

[16] 
Breit, Johannes (July 20, 2018). "How One of the Internet's Biggest History Forums Deals With Holocaust Deniers". Slate. Retrieved February 6, 2025.

"The AskHistorians Subreddit Banned Holocaust Deniers, and Facebook Should Too | Slate". MediaWell. Retrieved February 6, 2025.

"History under attack: Holocaust denial and distortion on social media". UNESDOC Digital Library. 2022. doi:10.54675/MLSL4494. ISBN 978-92-3-100531-2. Retrieved February 6, 2025.

"Antisemitism Resurgent: Manifestations of Antisemitism in the 21st Century". Counter Extremism Project. Retrieved February 6, 2025.

Lubet, Steven (September 10, 2024). "Why Is the New York Times Legitimizing a Holocaust Denier?". The Bulwark. Retrieved February 6, 2025.

[22] Breit, Johannes (July 20, 2018). "How One of the Internet's Biggest History Forums Deals With Holocaust Deniers". Slate. Retrieved February 6, 2025.

[23] "The AskHistorians Subreddit Banned Holocaust Deniers, and Facebook Should Too | Slate". MediaWell. Retrieved February 6, 2025.

[24] "History under attack: Holocaust denial and distortion on social media". UNESDOC Digital Library. 2022. doi:10.54675/MLSL4494. ISBN 978-92-3-100531-2. Retrieved February 6, 2025.

[25] "Antisemitism Resurgent: Manifestations of Antisemitism in the 21st Century". Counter Extremism Project. Retrieved February 6, 2025.

[26] Lubet, Steven (September 10, 2024). "Why Is the New York Times Legitimizing a Holocaust Denier?". The Bulwark. Retrieved February 6, 2025.

[17] The Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

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