SpezGate
Right after causing a shitstorm by banning the /r/pizzagate subreddit, things just got even worse for Reddits image when the CEO and co-founder said this:
And with one stupid move he turned an already bad pizzagate controversy, into "spezgate".
Heaps of people (especially in /r/conspiracy) have claimed their comments have been edited over the years but AFAIK it had never been admitted until now.
It didn't take long before the front page of reddit was all about spez's fail.
Even the BBC is now reporting it - "Reddit CEO Steve Huffman admits changing posts made by Donald Trump supporters" .
By mentioning pizzagate in his admission spez just made it really awkward for the MSM to dodge the topic if they cover this story.
Leaked Reddit Moderator Chat Logs
Leaked moderator chat logs show that heaps of the admins are pretty pissed at CEO Steve Huffman aka spez" (and /r/The_Donald) right now.
This thread is a massive read but its good to get some insight into how they're dealing with this internally - some find it funny but most see how bad this looks for reddits credibility and user trust.
Full leaked Reddit mod chat logs
Alternatively there is also a trimmed down version of the chat just looking at plans to "deal with" the /r/the_donald subreddit.
Archived user+privacy agreements
Although I see a lot of talk about loss of trust from users and moderators, I haven't seen any discussion yet about if Spez actually broke any laws by doing this.
Here are some archives of the reddit user agreement and privacy policy - just in case they decide to edit.
I see a bunch of mentions about their right to remove your content , and they specifically protect the right for a user to edit or delete their own content , but nothing about Reddit editing your content at all..
Because at the very least he seems to be violating these rules :
You agree not to interrupt the serving of reddit, introduce malicious code onto reddit, make it difficult for anyone else to use reddit due to your actions, attempt to manipulate votes or reddit’s systems, or assist anyone in misusing reddit in any way. It takes a lot of work to maintain reddit. Be cool.
Because spez directly manipulated the database and bypassed the regular moderation tools he left no sign on the site that the comment was edited at all.
The only weak "proof" a reddit user could provide that specific content was/wasn't written by them would be if they took snapshots using a service like archive.is right after posting.
This was a once-off response in the heat of the moment, and it was only those silly pizzagate conspiracy theorists affected .. Right ?
Nope - Reddit also helped delete evidence to cover up Hillary's email server , and it's been shown by wikileaks that they've been working with Stratfor (who's staff are also seemingly involved in pizzagate).
Why should anyone trust Reddit after this ?
On the Steem blockchain , none of this could have happened
Steemit is different - as @cylonmaker2053 pointed out in this short but great post:
By contrast, Steemit content is stored on an immutable blockchain and user accounts are protected via public-private key encryption; Steemit corporate has no control over our content, and that's a very positive feature in today's world of increasing censorship, loss of privacy, and gross violations of individual liberty.
Not only are your posts strongly secured against against editing by others with the dark sorcery of cryptography , you also have a full history of post edits in diff format on the blockchain - like this typo fix for example.
Even if you had your steemit device or keys stolen, and someone tried to edit or delete your content it would always remain on the blockchain - and you could prove exactly what was edited and when.
One of the most beautiful parts of cryptocurrency to me is that we don't have to always trust people to follow the "rules".
People get compromised by their own emotion, bribery and threats all the time and end up breaking the rules like spez.
In crypto-land, the rules are laid out in code - they don't bend for anyone. Code is law.
I almost want to thank the guy for helping burn down Reddit faster!
Thanks Spez! <3
I signed this petition to get him some "time off" after all his hard work promoting pizzagate and driving users to steemit.
Its the least we can do for such good free marketing ;)
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<3
this is the same type person who wants to decide what news is fake, wants back doors to your encryption, and wants to decide who educates your children by their standard, vaccinates your children with whatever they approve as safe, and who owns your children and ultimately owns you.
none of this is new. it is only that now, it is getting noticed, by some.
You and @titus-frost have been doing some great work thanks! Great opportunity to promote steemit!
Hurrah for Byzantine tolerance.
It's one of the things I love about Steemit - put it on the blockchain. Keep the integrity.
Excellent post. Thank you for keeping us up to date. I have never used reddit but I am glad I skipped it now.
This is fucked up alright!