Steve Huffman—Steve Huffman called unpaid moderators 'landed gentry,' threatened to replace protesters, refused compensation
During the June 2023 Reddit API controversy, CEO Steve Huffman called protesting volunteer moderators 'landed gentry,' comparing them unfavorably to democratically accountable leaders. Despite relying on unpaid moderator labor estimated at 466 hours per day ($3.4M annually at $20/hour), Huffman refused to compensate them or invest in paid moderation. On June 22, Reddit began pressuring subreddits continuing their blackout to reopen, threatening to install new moderators. Huffman dismissed the protest of 8,500+ subreddits as a 'small group' that is 'very upset' and said the blackout 'will pass.' The stance demonstrated contempt for volunteer labor essential to Reddit's platform while extracting value from their unpaid work.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gig Worker Rights | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Worker Rights | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.993 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.66)
Evidence (2 signals)
Reddit pressured blackout subreddits to reopen, threatened to install new moderators
On June 22, 2023, Reddit began pressuring subreddits that continued their blackout to reopen, according to a message released publicly by an r/DIY moderator. Out of fear that Reddit may install new moderators to replace them, r/DIY reopened. The threats demonstrated Reddit's willingness to replace unpaid volunteer moderators who protested the company's policies, despite the moderators providing essential free labor estimated at 466 hours per day ($3.4M annually at $20/hour according to a study published in 2022).
Huffman called volunteer moderators 'landed gentry,' dismissed 8,500+ subreddit protest as 'small group'
During the June 2023 API controversy, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman called protesting volunteer moderators 'landed gentry,' stating: 'The people who get there first get to stay there and pass it down to their descendants, and that is not democratic.' In an NPR interview on June 15, Huffman dismissed the blackout of 8,500+ subreddits as a 'small group' that is 'very upset' and said it 'will pass.' In an internal memo published by The Verge on June 13, Huffman told employees the protest 'will pass.' Despite relying on unpaid moderator labor, Huffman said Reddit wasn't going to invest in paid moderators or compensate them.