United States of America eSeries: Silicon Valley spin 💫

Silicon Valley spin 💫

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Tonight: Reddit deploys the ultimate Silicon Valley spin; everything 90s is cool again; and we talked to a former nurse about why she quit to run her OnlyFans account (spoiler alert: the money is ridiculous).

By Allison Morrow

💉 REDDIT SHRUGS

On the spectrum on social media wholesomeness, Reddit falls somewhere between Facebook and 4chan. It's packed with goofy, extremely specific threads. Like, if want to join up with some witches who are trying to use "astral projection" and hexes to defeat the Taliban, check out r/BewitchTheTaliban. If you're into goblincore (trust me, it's a thing), Reddit's got about 20,000 kindred spirits for you.

But, with a reported 52 million users, it's also home darker elements of the internet, like incels, QAnon, racism, people encouraging others to drink bleach. And, of course, no small amount of Covid-19 misinformation.

THE NEWS

A pro-vaccine Reddit group called r/vaxxhappened wrote an open letter to the site's founders, urging them to ban communities that "exist solely to spread medical disinformation and undermine efforts to combat the global pandemic." Dozens of other subreddits joined the call to action.

In response, Reddit doubled down on a well-worn "open forum" argument that has practically become a Silicon Valley cliche.

In a statement championing dissent as the "foundation of democracy," CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman basically said, yeah, no we're not getting involved.

Key quote: "While we appreciate the sentiment of those demanding that we ban more communities that challenge consensus views on the pandemic, we continue to believe in the good of our communities and hope that we collectively approach the challenges of the pandemic with empathy, compassion, and a willingness to understand what others are going through, even when their viewpoint on the pandemic is different from yours."

It's interesting (and more than a little frightening) to see scientific fact be labeled a "consensus view" rather than "reality." But putting that aside, the irony in Huffman's statement can't be ignored: Reddit's huge collection of online forums, called subreddits, aren't exactly famous for their "empathy" and "compassion."

This was part of what has become a fairly standard, two-prong Silicon Valley spin on misinformation:

First, the "we're a neutral platform not a publisher" defense. This is Mark Zuckerberg's favorite move when pressed on some of the garbage circulating on Facebook. Of course, that neutrality claim is undermined by the reality of Facebook's business, which involves closely tracking users and selling their information to advertisers. Incendiary, conspiratorial posts tend to spread like wildfire, encouraging people to spend more time and engage with more content. It's pretty hard to go viral with sober, scientific information.
Then there's the "fight bad info with good info" tactic. Facebook, Twitter and Reddit have all begun peppering users' feeds with official guidance from the CDC and offering links to legitimate websites. It's a nice idea, but facts alone have never been an effective antidote to conspiracy theories.

BOTTOM LINE

On Reddit, as with Facebook and Twitter, dangerous ideas aren't just given airtime, they're given a megaphone. Silicon Valley leaders like Zuckerberg and Huffman shouldn't be able to simply walk away from what they've created, claiming they stand for free speech and honest debate, especially when they're profiting off the lies and misinformation their sites continue to amplify.

📲 NUMBER OF THE DAY

$200,000

Allie Rae, a former ICU nurse in Boston who became a star on OnlyFans, said she's making far more money with her new gig. That is, about $200,000… a month. OnlyFans was about to pull the plug on sexually explicit content, a move that would have gutted Rae and thousands of content creators like her who've built massive followings on the platform. But facing a backlash, the company reversed its decision this week.

💻 DUDE.

Everything 90s is cool again, apparently. High-waisted loose-fit jeans? Check. The TV show "Friends"? The kids love it. Scrunchies? Don't even get me started.

Apparently, the trend applies to tech as well.

The names Dell and HP aren't quite as buzzy now as they were before the turn of the century, but those Windows-based geriatric PC makers are still chugging along with strong growth that makes Wall Street happy, my colleague Paul R. La Monica reports.

Dell, of "Dude, you're getting a Dell" ad fame, said sales were up 15% and operating earnings rose 21%. Its stock is up around 40% so far this year. 2021!

HP's stock, meanwhile, is up about 20% this year. Its sales rose 7% and profits more than 50% in the most recent quarter.

Both companies are benefitting from the work-and-school-from-home situations the world has found itself (still) in even 18 months after pandemic lockdowns began in the US. But both companies also warned this spring that chip shortages will hurt supplies and potentially lead to higher prices. Increased shipping costs could have an impact on profits as well.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

📉 US stocks fell Thursday, largely because investors are fretting in anticipation of Friday's econ nerdfest known as the Jackson Hole Symposium, where the Fed oracle in chief Jay Powell will detail his economic outlook. (More on that in yesterday's Nightcap, if you missed it!)

📰 Axel Springer, the German media conglomerate, has agreed to buy Politico for more than $1 billion.

🚲 Peloton is cutting the price of its exercise bike for the second time in a year as people return to gyms and rivals are peddling cheaper stationary bike alternatives.

🍟 Wendy's fries are getting a makeover. It was time, tbh.