reddit.com/r/trees

Quirky social-news site Reddit always seemed an unusual acquisition for Manhattan media giant Conde Nast, and it’s never been more evident: asked by Conde Nast overlords to stop running advertisements on behalf of advocates of California’s Proposition 19, which supports the legalization of marijuana, Reddit decided they’d do it anyway.

Because Conde Nast said its main concern was obtaining revenue from those controversial advocacy groups, Reddit’s solution was that they would simply run the ads for free.

“This was a decision made at the highest levels of Conde Nast,” an announcement from Reddit read. “Reddit itself strongly disagrees with it and, frankly, thinks it’s ridiculous that we’re turning away advertising money…We’re trying to convince Corporate that they’re making the wrong decision here, and we encourage the community to create a petition, so that your anger is organized in a way that will produce results.”

Conde Nast’s official response: “As a corporation, Conde Nast does not want to benefit financially from this particular issue.”

Reddit’s users, many of whom are outspoken marijuana legalization advocates themselves (Reddit operates a sub-site called “Trees,” devoted to weed-related news), had been up in arms over the decision. Dozens of users said that they would be instituting ad-blocking software in protest. Recently, pro-legalization ads have been making headlines because of the revelation that while Google’s policies are relatively liberal, Facebook will ban ads that contain images of “drug paraphernalia, or tobacco.” The iconic green cannabis leaf doesn’t make the cut.

This is the second time in fewer than two months that Reddit has vocally expressed dissatisfaction with its Conde Nast parentage. Last month, the site put out a call for user donations to help make changes, claiming that Conde Nast’s budget allotments to Reddit wouldn’t cover them.

Article via CNET