History of Reddit in Timeline

Reddit is a social news aggregation and forum platform where registered users submit content (links, text, images, videos) to subject-based boards called 'subreddits'. Users vote submissions up or down, influencing their visibility within subreddits and potentially on Reddit's front page. Reddit administrators and unpaid volunteer moderators manage the communities. The platform is owned and operated by Reddit, Inc., headquartered in San Francisco.

1914: Federal Trade Commission Act

In 1914, The Federal Trade Commission Act came into place.

1998: Hell in a Cell wrestling match

In 1998, a Hell in a Cell wrestling match took place between The Undertaker and Mankind. This match was later referenced in a popular copypasta on Reddit.

June 2005: Reddit Launched

In June 2005, Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian launched Reddit after being accepted into Y Combinator's first class, with Huffman coding the site in Common Lisp.

November 2005: Christopher Slowe joins Reddit

In November 2005, Christopher Slowe joined the Reddit team.

2005: Reddit Founded

In 2005, Reddit was founded by University of Virginia roommates Steve Huffman, Alexis Ohanian, and Aaron Swartz.

2005: Comments Added to Reddit

In 2005, comments were added to Reddit, allowing users to engage in discussions on the platform.

January 2006: Reddit Merges with Infogami

In January 2006, Reddit merged with Aaron Swartz's company Infogami, making Swartz an equal owner of Not A Bug, the parent company.

October 2006: Condé Nast Acquires Reddit

In October 2006, Condé Nast Publications acquired Reddit.

October 31, 2006: Reddit Acquired by Condé Nast Publications

On October 31, 2006, Huffman and Ohanian sold Reddit to Condé Nast Publications for a reported $10 million to $20 million, and the team relocated to San Francisco.

November 2006: Swartz Complains About the Corporate Environment

In November 2006, Aaron Swartz blogged, expressing his dissatisfaction with the new corporate environment at Condé Nast, criticizing its level of productivity.

January 2007: Swartz Fired from Reddit

In January 2007, Aaron Swartz was terminated from Reddit for undisclosed reasons.

2007: Mister Splashy Pants Whale Naming Prank

In 2007, Reddit users coordinated to skew a Greenpeace poll to name a humpback whale "Mister Splashy Pants", with Reddit administrators encouraging the prank. In December of that year, Mister Splashy Pants was announced as the winner of the competition.

2008: Erik Martin Joins Reddit

In 2008, Erik Martin joined Reddit as a community manager.

2008: Subreddits Introduced

In 2008, interest-based groups called 'subreddits' were introduced on Reddit, significantly enhancing user activity and community building.

2008: Reddit Launched Free API

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, causing an ongoing dispute.

2009: Reddit Launched Advertising

In 2009, Reddit launched sponsored content and a self-serve ads platform to start advertising on the site.

2009: Huffman and Ohanian Leave Reddit

In 2009, Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian departed from Reddit.

2009: RedditGifts Secret Santa Exchange Created

In 2009, a fan-made RedditGifts site was created for a Secret Santa exchange among Reddit users; 4,500 redditors participated.

2009: Imgur started as a gift to Reddit's community

In 2009, the image sharing community and image host Imgur was founded as a gift to Reddit's community.

July 2010: Reddit Gold Benefits Program Launched

In July 2010, Reddit launched its Reddit Gold benefits program, offering new features to editors and creating a new revenue stream.

August 28, 2010: Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor rally

On August 28, 2010, Glenn Beck held the Restoring Honor rally.

September 2010: Reddit Users Initiate "Restoring Truthiness" Movement

In September 2010, Reddit users initiated a movement called "Restoring Truthiness" to persuade Stephen Colbert to host a counter-rally in Washington, D.C. This movement was started by user mrsammercer, inspired by a dream. Over $100,000 was raised for charity to gain Colbert's attention.

October 30, 2010: Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear

On October 30, 2010, the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, a satirical rally in Washington, D.C. was held, with thousands of redditors attending.

2010: RedditGifts Secret Santa Expands Internationally

In 2010, 92 countries were involved in the RedditGifts Secret Santa program, with 17,543 participants and $662,907.60 spent on gifts and shipping.

2010: Fundraising competition

In 2010, Christians, Muslims, and atheists held a friendly fundraising competition on Reddit, where the groups raised more than $50,000.

2010: Reddit releases first mobile web interface

In 2010, Reddit released its first mobile web interface to make the website easier to read and navigate on touch screen devices.

September 6, 2011: Reddit became operationally independent

On September 6, 2011, Reddit became operationally independent of Condé Nast, operating as a separate subsidiary of its parent company, Advance Publications.

2011: Erik Martin Becomes General Manager

In 2011, Erik Martin became the general manager of Reddit.

2011: Ohanian outlined logo's evolution

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".

2011: Reddit Acquires RedditGifts

In 2011, Reddit acquired RedditGifts, which had expanded the secret Santa program to various other occasions.

2011: Reddit Becomes Independent Subsidiary

In 2011, Reddit became an independent subsidiary of Condé Nast's parent company, Advance Publications.

2011: Reddit Bans Suggestive or Sexual Content Featuring Minors

In 2011, Reddit changed its policies to explicitly ban "suggestive or sexual content featuring minors" following news media coverage of jailbait being shared on the site.

2011: Atheism subreddit raise for charity

In 2011, the atheism subreddit on Reddit raised over $200,000 for charity through a donation drive.

May 2012: Reddit Joins Internet Defense League

In May 2012, Reddit joined the Internet Defense League, a group formed to organize future protests against legislation.

2012: Yishan Wong Joins Reddit as CEO

In 2012, Yishan Wong became the CEO of Reddit.

2012: Barack Obama AMA

In 2012, during his campaign for United States President, Barack Obama participated in an "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) interview on Reddit's r/IAmA subreddit.

February 2013: Reddit Accepts Bitcoin for Reddit Gold

In February 2013, Reddit began accepting the digital currency Bitcoin for its Reddit Gold subscription service through a partnership with bitcoin payment processor Coinbase.

February 2013: Influx of Branded Content on Reddit

In February 2013, it was recognized that multinational corporations like Costco, Taco Bell, Subaru, and McDonald's were posting branded content on Reddit made to appear as original content. Nissan ran a successful branded content promotion offering users free gifts to publicize a new car, though the company was later ridiculed for suspected astroturfing when the CEO only answered puff piece questions.

April 2013: Reddit Criticism After Boston Marathon Bombing

After the Boston Marathon bombing in April 2013, Reddit faced criticism after users wrongly identified people as suspects in the Subreddit r/FindBostonBombers. General manager Erik Martin later issued an apology.

2013: Pew Research Center data on Reddit users

Data collected by Pew Research Center in 2013 found that Reddit users were much more likely to be from urban communities than rural ones. 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.

2013: Multireddit Feature Rolled Out

In 2013, Reddit rolled out its multireddit feature, a significant change that allowed users to view top stories from collections of subreddits, customizing their front page experience.

2013: April Fools' Day Pranks and Events

Since 2013, Reddit has been doing multiple pranks and events for April Fools' Day, often taking the form of massive social experiments.

February 2014: Reddit to donate 10% of ad revenue to non-profits

In February 2014, Reddit announced it would donate 10% of its annual ad revenue to non-profits voted upon by its users, resulting in donations of $82,765 to each selected recipient.

May 2014: Reddit Blocked in Indonesia

Since May 2014, Reddit has been blocked in Indonesia by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology due to content containing nudity.

October 2014: Reddit acquires Alien Blue

In October 2014, Reddit acquired Alien Blue, a third-party app, to serve as the official iOS Reddit app.

November 2014: Ohanian Becomes Executive Chairman

In November 2014, Alexis Ohanian became the full-time executive chairman of Reddit following Yishan Wong's resignation.

2014: Ellen Pao Becomes CEO of Reddit

In 2014, Ellen Pao became CEO of Reddit.

2014: Yishan Wong Resigns as CEO

In 2014, Yishan Wong resigned from Reddit as CEO, citing disagreements over office relocation and the stressful nature of the position. Ellen Pao replaced Wong as interim CEO.

2014: RedditGifts Secret Santa Participation Milestone

In 2014, about 200,000 users from 188 countries participated in the RedditGifts Secret Santa program.

2014: Martin's Remarks on Community Control

In a 2014 interview with Memeburn, Erik Martin, then the general manager of Reddit, stated that their approach is to give community moderators as much control as possible to shape and cultivate the type of communities they want.

June 10, 2015: Reddit Bans Subreddits Citing Harassment

On June 10, 2015, Reddit shut down the 150,000-subscriber "fatpeoplehate" subreddit and four others citing issues related to harassment, sparking controversy.

July 10, 2015: Huffman Returns as CEO

On July 10, 2015, Steve Huffman returned as the CEO of Reddit following Ellen Pao's departure.

August 2015: Reddit Banned in Russia for Drug-Related Content

In August 2015, the Federal Drug Control Service of Russia banned Reddit for promoting conversations about psychedelic drugs, specifically citing advice on growing magic mushrooms. The site was later unblocked.

2015: Ellen Pao Resigns Amid User Revolt

In 2015, Ellen Pao resigned as interim CEO of Reddit amid a user revolt over the firing of a popular Reddit employee. During her tenure, Reddit initiated an anti-harassment policy, banned involuntary sexualization, and banned several forums that focused on bigoted content or harassment of individuals.

2015: Reddit Adds Account Suspension Feature

In 2015, Reddit added an account suspension feature to replace sitewide shadowbans, but moderators still have the ability to shadowban users or their individual posts.

2015: Reddit enabled embedding

In 2015, Reddit enabled embedding, allowing users to share Reddit content on other websites.

2015: The Button April Fool's Event

In 2015, Reddit launched "The Button" as an April Fool's event, a global "button" that could only be clicked once per user, attracting more than a million clicks.

2015: Reddit Blocked and Later Unblocked in Russia

In 2015, Reddit was blocked in Russia, then later unblocked.

April 2016: Reddit releases official app

In April 2016, Reddit released its official application, Reddit: The Official App, on Google Play and the iOS App Store.

May 2016: CEO Steve Huffman Interview at TNW Conference

In May 2016, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman stated in an interview at the TNW Conference that Reddit is privy to its users' "dark secrets", in contrast to Facebook, and that the website's "privacy" section was updated. Shortly after this interview, the website drew criticism for its new advertisement content.

June 2016: Reddit to use VigLink

In June 2016, Reddit announced that they would begin using VigLink to redirect affiliate links.

2016: Reddit hosts images using new tool

In 2016, Reddit began hosting images using a new in-house image uploading tool, shifting away from the reliance on Imgur.

2016: Pew Research Center published research on Reddit usage

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. Politically, 43% of Reddit users identified as liberal, 38% as moderate, and 19% as conservative.

January 2017: Reddit releases spoiler tags

In January 2017, Reddit released its "spoiler tags" feature. This feature warns users of potential spoilers in posts and pixelates preview images.

February 2017: Reddit Bans r/altright Subreddit

In February 2017, Reddit banned the alt-right subreddit r/altright for violating its terms of service, specifically for attempting to share private information about the man who attacked alt-right figure Richard B. Spencer.

April 22, 2017: March for Science

On April 22, 2017, the March for Science took place, involving over 1 million scientists and supporters participating in over 600 events across 66 countries. The march originated from a Reddit discussion about climate change information being removed from the White House website.

2017: Slowe Rejoined Reddit as CTO

In 2017, Christopher Slowe, the company's first employee, rejoined Reddit as chief technology officer.

2017: Reddit developed real-time chat software

In 2017, Reddit developed its own real-time chat software for the site. The company built chat functions that it hoped would become an integral part of Reddit. Individual chat rooms were rolled out during the year.

2017: Reddit's Valuation and Headcount Increased

In 2017, Reddit doubled its headcount and was valued at $1.8 billion during a $200 million round of new venture funding.

2017: Reddit Users Protest Net Neutrality Repeal

In 2017, Reddit users protested the Federal Communications Commission's plan to repeal net neutrality rules, filling the front page with "Battle for the Net" posts and showcasing campaign donations received by members of Congress from the telecommunications industry. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman also advocated for net neutrality rules in 2017.

2017: r/place Collaborative Pixel Art Experiment

In 2017, Reddit's experiment r/place involved making collaborative pixel art, with millions of users working together to place pixels on a larger canvas.

2017: In-house video uploading service launched

In 2017, Reddit's in-house video uploading service for desktop and mobile was launched, enabling users to upload videos directly to Reddit without third-party services.

2017: Partnerships and increased advertising

Since 2017, Reddit has partnered with companies to host sponsored AMAs and other interactive events, increased advertising offerings, and introduced efforts to work with content publishers.

March 2018: Huffman hid Russian troll activity

In March 2018, it was revealed that Reddit CEO Steve Huffman had hidden Russian troll activity from Reddit users.

April 2018: Reddit Website Redesign

In April 2018, Reddit launched a major redesign of its website.

April 2018: Restrictions on Snoo design imposed

In April 2018, when Reddit revamped its website, 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.

April 2018: Advance Publications retains majority stake in Reddit

As of April 2018, Advance Publications, Condé Nast's parent company, retained a majority stake in Reddit.

July 12, 2018: Moderator Removal and Forum Restoration on r/KotakuInAction

On July 12, 2018, the creator and head moderator of the GamerGate subreddit, r/KotakuInAction, removed all moderators and set the forum to private, alleging racism and sexism. A Reddit employee restored the forum and its moderators an hour later.

July 2018: Active Subreddit Count

As of July 2018, there were about 138,000 active subreddits on Reddit.

2018: Reddit Gold Renamed Reddit Premium

In 2018, Reddit Gold was renamed to Reddit Premium.

2018: Jen Wong hired as COO, native mobile ads introduced

In 2018, Reddit hired Jen Wong as COO, responsible for the company's business strategy and growth, and introduced native mobile ads.

2018: Reddit launched redesigned website

In 2018, Reddit launched its redesigned website, with its first major visual update in a decade. The update included a hamburger menu, different views, and new fonts.

2018: Community chat rooms rolled out

In 2018, community chat rooms for members of a given subreddit were rolled out, expanding the real-time chat functionality on Reddit.

February 2019: Tencent Investment Backlash

In February 2019, Chinese company Tencent invested $150 million into Reddit, causing backlash and concerns about potential censorship among Reddit users.

August 19, 2019: Reddit announces RPAN

On August 19, 2019, Reddit announced RPAN (Reddit Public Access Network), a live streaming service, and began testing to determine if it would become a permanent program.

2019: Reddit's User Base Reaches 430 Million

According to Reddit, in 2019, there were approximately 430 million monthly users, known as "redditors".

2019: ISPs Block Reddit in India

In 2019, ISPs in India were found to be intermittently blocking traffic over Reddit in some regions.

2019: Shariq Rizvi hired as VP of ad products and engineering

In 2019, Reddit hired former Twitter ad director Shariq Rizvi as its vice president of ad products and engineering.

2019: Reddit tests tipping feature

In 2019, Reddit tested a new tipping feature, initially available only to user u/shittymorph, known for copypasta referencing The Undertaker and Mankind's 1998 Hell in a Cell match.

2019: Russian State-Sponsored Troll Accounts Target Subreddits

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.

May 2020: Launch of Reddit Moons

In May 2020, Reddit Moons, a site-specific cryptocurrency, was launched.

June 5, 2020: Ohanian Resigns from Board

On June 5, 2020, Alexis Ohanian resigned from the Reddit board in response to the George Floyd protests and requested to be replaced by a Black candidate. Michael Seibel was subsequently named to the board.

June 2020: Moderators' Open Letter During George Floyd Protests

During the George Floyd protests in early June 2020, over 800 Reddit moderators signed an open letter demanding a policy banning hate speech, a shutdown of racist and sexist subreddits, and more employee support for moderation.

June 29, 2020: Reddit Bans Approximately 2,000 Subreddits

On June 29, 2020, Reddit updated its content policy and introduced rules aimed at curbing "hate" and banned about 2,000 subreddits that violated the new guidelines, including r/The_Donald, r/GenderCritical, and r/ChapoTrapHouse.

July 1, 2020: RPAN Studio released

On July 1, 2020, Reddit released RPAN Studio, an application that allows users to broadcast live from desktop computers.

2020: Ohanian's claim about Swartz's role

In 2020, Ohanian claimed that Aaron Swartz's company was acquired by Reddit 6 months after he and Huffman had started the platform.

2020: Reddit Removed 6% of Posts

In 2020, Reddit removed 6% of posts made on the platform, which is approximately 233 million. More than 99% of removals were marked as spam, with the remainder consisting of other offensive content.

January 2021: GameStop Short Squeeze Organized on r/wallstreetbets

In January 2021, the GameStop short squeeze was primarily organized on the subreddit r/wallstreetbets.

January 28, 2021: Increased RPAN streaming times

On January 28, 2021, Reddit permanently increased RPAN streaming times to three hours.

March 5, 2021: Reddit Appoints First CFO

On March 5, 2021, Reddit announced the appointment of Drew Vollero as its first chief financial officer (CFO).

March 2021: Controversy Over Aimee Challenor Hiring

In March 2021, Reddit users discovered that Aimee Challenor, a politician suspended from UK political parties, was hired as a site administrator. Subreddits went private in protest, and Reddit's CEO Steve Huffman said Challenor had been inadequately vetted. Challenor was subsequently removed from her role.

April 2021: Reddit Talk Announced

In April 2021, Reddit Talk was announced as a competitor to Clubhouse. Reddit Talk lets subreddit moderators start audio meeting rooms that mimic Clubhouse in design.

August 2021: Introduced TikTok-like Video Feature

In August 2021, Reddit introduced a TikTok-like short-form video feature for iOS that lets users rapidly swipe through a feed of short video content.

August 2021: Subreddit Protest Against COVID-19 Misinformation

In late August 2021, over 70 subreddits went private to protest COVID-19 misinformation on Reddit, and Reddit's refusal to delete subreddits undermining the pandemic's severity. A letter from the United States Senate to Reddit's CEO expressed similar concerns.

August 2021: Reddit Valued at Over $10 Billion

As of August 2021, Reddit is valued at more than $10 billion following a $410 million funding round.

December 2021: Introduced Reddit Recap Feature

In December 2021, Reddit introduced a Spotify Wrapped-like feature called Reddit Recap that recaps various statistics from January 1 to November 30 about each individual user and allows the user to view it.

December 2021: Reddit Files for IPO Confidentially

In December 2021, Reddit revealed that it had confidentially filed for an initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

2021: Reddit Bans r/DonaldTrump Subreddit

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.

2021: r/all Subreddit Filters NSFW Content

As of 2021, the subreddit r/all, which originally did not filter topics, now excludes not-safe-for-work (NSFW) content.

June 2022: Reddit acquired MeaningCloud

In June 2022, Reddit acquired MeaningCloud, a natural language processing company, to enhance its platform capabilities.

July 7, 2022: Announced Blockchain-Backed Collectible Avatars

On July 7, 2022, Reddit announced "blockchain-backed Collectible Avatars" available on the subreddit r/CollectibleAvatars for purchase separately from Reddit Premium. They use Reddit's Polygon blockchain-powered digital wallet the Vault.

November 15, 2022: RPAN discontinued

On November 15, 2022, Reddit officially discontinued RPAN (Reddit Public Access Network), its live streaming service.

2022: Study Finds Medical Misinformation on Reddit

A 2022 study of Reddit comments and posts discussing urinary tract infections found harmful medical misinformation that may dissuade readers from seeking medical care.

2022: Reddit Talk Updated

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.

2022: r/place Experiment Repeated

In 2022, Reddit repeated the r/place experiment for April Fools'.

February 2023: Reddit System Breach by BlackCat Hacker Gang

In February 2023, Reddit systems experienced a data breach.

April 2023: Reddit Announces API Pricing Changes

June 2023: BlackCat Hacker Gang Claims Responsibility for Reddit Breach

In June 2023, the BlackCat hacker gang claimed responsibility for a February 2023 breach of Reddit's systems. They claimed to have stolen 80 GB of compressed data and demanded a $4.5 million ransom from Reddit.

July 20, 2023: /r/place Third Launch

On July 20, 2023, /r/place had its third launch; however, the launch was heavily protested by users and developers due to the event following the 2023 Reddit API controversy.

October 2023: Reddit Blocked in Multiple Countries

As of October 2023, Reddit is blocked in Indonesia, China, North Korea, and Turkey, and partially blocked in Bangladesh due to Internet censorship.

October 2023: Reddit Moons Value Crash

In October 2023, Reddit Moons crashed by more than 90% after 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.

November 2023: Reddit began rolling out a comprehensive rebrand

In November 2023, 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.

2023: Reddit Downsized Office

In 2023, Reddit downsized from an office in the Mid-Market neighborhood to an office in the South of Market neighborhood in San Francisco.

2023: End of Coin Awards

In 2023, Reddit ended the ability for Reddit Premium subscribers to use coins to award posts or comments.

2023: r/place Experiment Repeated

In 2023, Reddit repeated the r/place experiment for April Fools'.

February 2024: Reddit partners with Google

In February 2024, Reddit announced a partnership with Google in a deal worth about $60 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.

March 20, 2024: Reddit's IPO Opens

On March 20, 2024, Reddit's initial public offering opened at $34 per share with a $6.4 billion valuation.

March 21, 2024: Reddit Debuts on the Stock Market

On March 21, 2024, Reddit went public, debuting on the stock market with the ticker symbol RDDT.

May 15, 2024: Login flow removed from old domain

On May 15, 2024, the dedicated login flow was removed from the old.reddit.com domain, although site admins said they had "no plans" to remove the old domain entirely.

July 2024: Reddit's Market Cap Reaches $10 Billion

As of July 2024, Reddit's market capitalization is US$10 billion.

September 2024: FTC Report on User Data Practices

In September 2024, the Federal Trade Commission released a report summarizing company responses, including from Reddit, regarding user and non-user data collection. The report found that companies' data practices put individuals at risk of identity theft, stalking, and other harms.

December 2024: Reddit announces Reddit Answers

In December 2024, Reddit announced Reddit Answers, an AI search tool that summarizes conversations in response to a question from the user.

January 2025: Reddit Communities Ban Links from X

In January 2025, over 100 Reddit communities banned users from posting links from the social media site X. Furthermore, The Verge reported that Elon Musk had pressured the CEO of Reddit to moderate content critical of him, and Reddit temporarily banned r/WhitePeopleTwitter due to "policy violations".

February 2025: Reddit's Global Website Traffic Distribution

As of February 2025, Reddit is the ninth-most-visited website globally, with 51.75% of its traffic originating from the United States, followed by Canada (7.01%), the United Kingdom (6.97%), Australia (3.97%), and Germany (3%).

March 5, 2025: Reddit to Issue Warnings for Upvoting Violent Content

On March 5, 2025, Reddit announced that they will be issuing warnings to users who upvote "violent content" and may take other actions against the users. Two days later, The Verge reported that Reddit's moderation tool was flagging the word "Luigi" as potentially violent.

2025: AI Opinion Manipulation Experiment on r/changemyview

In 2025, researchers from the University of Zurich conducted an experiment on r/changemyview, deploying AI-run Reddit accounts to influence opinions. The experiment was run without moderators' consent, and critics deemed it unethical.