Reddit - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Reddit is High Risk.

Reddit is High Risk. The company yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. The company implements identity-based policies that replace merit, excellence, and integrity with preferential treatment and outcomes. Reddit embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	High Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	No Data
Employment Protection	Medium Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	Medium Risk
Funding	High Risk
Political Actions	Lower Risk

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

In 2020, after 800 site moderators petitioned the site’s administration to “ban hate speech”, Reddit instituted sweeping rule changes that led to the banning of numerous conservative subreddits (1). For example, the largest pro-Trump subreddit and various boards critical of certain aspects of gender ideology have been banned since the rule change (2)(3). The company has also acted against accounts that question the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and lockdown policies (4).

Criteria:

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level:

N/A

Rationale:

Reddit does not publish charitable giving guidelines (1).

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Reddit does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (1)(2).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Reddit’s CEO is a signatory to CEOs for Gun Safety (1). The company’s Co-Founder & CEO, Steve Huffman, denounced various states’ legislative efforts to protect election integrity and security (2).

Criteria:

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Reddit provides a benefits package for employees that covers travel/lodging costs for an abortion (1)(2). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of the company using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (3).

Criteria:

Uses corporate political actions and/or financial contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Reddit does not operate a PAC or engage in lobbying at this time (1)(2)(3).