Reddit CEO Steve Huffman straight-up called r/popular garbage and said the company is killing it off to replace the default feed with AI-powered personalization that actually matches what different users want to see. The feed has been around since 2017, but Huffman says it creates a fake impression of one unified Reddit culture that turns away new people instead of welcoming them.
The platform is testing personalized feeds and bringing back news filters while admitting the whole thing is still an early stage. Starting in March next year, moderators can only run up to five communities with over 100,000 weekly visitors, which targets power mods who currently control dozens of major subreddits.
The company is basically betting that algorithmic feeds and breaking up concentrated mod power will fix growth problems better than the old community-first approach, though whether longtime users actually want Reddit to become another TikTok-style feed remains up for debate.
The platform is testing personalized feeds and bringing back news filters while admitting the whole thing is still an early stage. Starting in March next year, moderators can only run up to five communities with over 100,000 weekly visitors, which targets power mods who currently control dozens of major subreddits.
The company is basically betting that algorithmic feeds and breaking up concentrated mod power will fix growth problems better than the old community-first approach, though whether longtime users actually want Reddit to become another TikTok-style feed remains up for debate.
