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Reddit Technology

Reddit pulls advertising from conspiracy theory threads in wake of 'pizzagate' shooting

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By John Glenday | Reporter

December 7, 2016 | 2 min read

Reddit has moved to pull the plug on advertising for its popular conspiracy theory page, in which members engage in discussions around ‘unsolved mysteries’, after adding the popular section to its ‘no ads list’.

The decision was prompted after a gunman opened fire in a pizza restaurant named on the subreddit as part of a false conspiracy story propagated - which contended that the Washington DC pizza restaurant was the hub of a child sex ring operated by former Hilary Clinton chairman John Podesta.

Until now the forum was part of Reddit’s programmatic advertising estate, hosting adverts for major brands supplied by third parties but that relationship has now ceased in the wake of the ongoing fallout.

The so-called ‘Pizzagate’ incident comes at an awkward time for Reddit as it seeks to position itself as an ad platform to rival the likes of Facebook, but which now risks having its reputation sullied by association with some of the internet’s darker traits.

Reddit has moved to clean up its image in recent months such as banning groups engaging in sexist or racist discussions.

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