So I’ve seen a few posts regarding news outlets calling the protests a failure, and I don’t really think that’s the case. The protests have clearly made an impact, especially if the Reddit CEO is willing to oust MODS to reopen subreddits. I truly believe that something has been jump started here on Lemmy, Kbin, and all of the fediverse. What happened on Reddit has simply pushed those already on the fence, or looking for other social media platforms to jump ship. I truly believe the impact is greater than what the media and Reddit in general want us to believe. Something has started here on the fediverse that simply cannot be stopped, all we can do is inform others and show why it’s the future of aggregated news boards and social media.
I have seen it called a failure on Reddit because some mods were either forcefully removed or gave in once they were threatened with removal. At which point, as some people here have been saying, they switched tactics to flooding the subs with funny images instead. There are also videos from people like Louis Rossmann who is disappointed with how easily some mods gave in.
For those who don’t know, he put in monumental effort trying to get a right to repair bill passed in his state, only to get back doored at the last minute by weasel words in the bill, effectively neutering it at the 11th hour. Meanwhile, people with realistically nothing on the line are caving to pressure over the ability to moderate a social media website. It’s understandably disheartening for him.