Is the online media afraid of Reddit?
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| Where have you gone? |
Traditional media has gone the way of the dodo, but isn't there even one online writer today who is willing to tell the truth about what is going on over at Reddit?
If there were ever an organization that needed to be held accountable, it is Reddit. But the coverage of Reddit is almost all cheery reporting about Reddit's PR releases. It is almost all rehashed spin.
Is that because Conde Nast owns Wired Magazine, and no writer wants to cross them? Is that it? Seriously, if you are an online journalist please leave a comment. I would really like to know.
If you are an online journalist, I challenge you to take a look at what is really going on over at Reddit. Take a look at http://www.reddit.com/r/BeatingWomen and http://www.reddit.com/r/SexyAbortions.
Reddit has forums ("subReddits") called diarrhea, dollsex, PicsOfDeadJailbait, Teen_tits, exgirlfriendpictures, etc. There are literally thousands of them! Just look through the list.
How can it not be newsworthy that a major corporation like Conde Nast would be involved in that?
It would only take 5 or 10 minutes to go to those subReddits and research this. I challenge you to go there, read the posts, and look around. It is absolutely horrifying.
Reddit has received endless coverage about how wonderful and altruistic they are. While most of it has been concocted by Reddit's PR department, some of it is deserved. But the other side of Reddit - the seedy side - is large, shocking, and goes grossly underreported.
I challenge you to present both sides of the story.
posted by Lou franklin at 10:35 AM
8 Comments:
Little hint for you, Lou.
There isn't a news outlet in existence that would use this blog as a news source, or even an idea for a story. They don't even know you exist.
Let's go through the checklist.
1. Conde Nast doesn't care, or they would have shut down all or most of the seedy subreddits (or even just the worst ones).
2. Media outlets generally don't care. Though you know for a fact that there was coverage of r/jailbait getting closed down, and the articles generally made mention of some of the seedy subreddits.
3. Redditors aren't bothered by it. Reddit's monthly unique visitor count is staggeringly high. I am a redditor, and I have no desire to see abortion pictures (there are only five people subscribed to that subreddit, so I'm guessing the vast majority of redditors don't know or care about it)
4. The general public doesn't care. Many of the people I know don't give two shits about internet forums. I even know some strong Conservatives who think Obama is the devil, and even those guys don't give a fuck about Internet forums, they care about other issues that are actually relevant (guns, God and gays, as they say, illegal immigration, local/state politics, etc).
5. "Lou Franklin" cares about it.
So here we are. Barely anybody shares your immense concern over the insidious evils of reddit. I'm actually not sure this blog post is even needed, because I can round up links for articles that discuss the seedy underground of reddit (some of which were very recently written, and you dutifully commented on). Maybe you are upset that there isn't 24/7 media outrage over the evils of reddit. Or maybe you're just bored. I don't know. But I don't think the anti-reddit thing is close to taking off yet.
> They don't even know you exist.
Ah, but they do.
> Conde Nast doesn't care
That would be the point.
> Media outlets generally don't care.
Wrong. Media outlets care about what their readers care about. They care precisely because "Reddit's monthly unique visitor count is staggeringly high".
This is a whopper of a story because there are literally thousands of repulsive subReddits and literally millions of people have seen them and thought "WTF?!? That's not right" yet nobody in the media has ever dared to speak the truth.
Hundreds of articles have been written about Reddit, but almost all of them have been boring kiss-ass rehashes of Reddit's PR claims.
Now imagine you dared to say something edgy and substantial about Reddit. Now imagine that you write for TechCrunch or ZDNet where you have a lot of tech-savvy readers who are familiar with Reddit. Now imagine that you could do all the research you needed for the story in 10 minutes from your desk, and that nobody could refute your thesis because it is all there on Reddit in black and white for anybody to see.
Reddit is polarizing. People love it or they hate it. That makes this a blockbuster story. A blockbuster.
I love how people care enough about this blog to comment saying that "nobody cares".
Yes, you do care.
I have a hard time understanding why Reddit would want that type of content on their site. I'll bet a lot of it isn't even legal - especially on the forums for drugs and porn.
Google exposes the filth that is Reddit! If you search "Reddit.com" on Google, three of the linked subreddits will be "NSFW" (Not Safe For Work), GoneWild, and JailBait.
>I love how people care enough about this blog to comment saying that "nobody cares". Yes, you do care.
Uhh, brilliant observation there, buddy. Obviously those of us who read this blog do care about reddit and Lou's crusade. Personally, I find Lou's whole crusade to be fascinating from a psychological standpoint, and proudly consider myself a member of the Lou Franklin fan club (I admit there's something likable about the guy, at least he keeps things interesting).
I think it is a "brilliant observation". Of course people care. Of course Redditors are bothered by it.
Reddit has a forum called "rape". The current posts are entitled "You want rape? You got it. Over 900 videos", "He died doing what he loved: raping elderly women", and "I like it when they cry".
There is a post entitled "This is why you don't take rides with strangers" that shows a picture of a young girl with her ankles tied to a bed, her neck tied to a bed with a leather strap, her hands handcuffed behind her, and her mouth duct taped.
There is a post that shows a young woman who looks very scared getting her top ripped off as she screams in horror. It is entitled "She likes it".
There is a post entitled "Tears are the best lube" that shows a young naked girl with a strap tied around her mouth, crying as she gets penetrated.
You're telling me that Redditors aren't bothered by that? Even female Redditors? Of course they are.
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