Reddit is a social network that carries many stereotypes. For some readers, it will still conjure up an image of men in their underwear posting from their parents’ basement, conducting deep, fiercely technical discussions about the CGI in Star Wars.
But Reddit has changed, and there is a new and perhaps surprising constellation in the Redditsphere: Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government. Last month, Labour set up the profile UKGovNews, with a rather dull-looking royal-blue background. The account seems — to the irritation of many Reddit users — to exclusively post articles promoting the government’s many policy wins.
Unsurprisingly then, for a message board with deep roots in the anarchic, anonymous worldwide web, the government’s reception has been mixed. On the r/LabourUK subreddit (the name for topic-specific message boards on the platform), one user, “TheCharalampos”, wrote: “I don’t like what they are posting so far … Feels very ‘baby’s first propaganda account’.”
Examples of the government’s posts include one in the r/york subreddit announcing £415 million of funding to improve struggling rail services between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York (45 upvotes). And in r/ukpolitics, an immigration announcement that the government has returned more than 24,000 people with no right to be in the UK since the general election — the highest returns rate for eight years (1,700 upvotes) – presumably a hit with would-be Reform voters.
What’s fascinating, though, is not Labour’s clunky communications style, but the fact it is on Reddit in the first place. Its presence is not only revealing of how social media use is changing, but also a change in the communications strategy at the heart of government, as Labour feels the hot, beery breath of digitally savvy Reform on its neck.
Labour’s foray into Reddit follows in the wake of its new TikTok account (UKLabour, 230,000 followers) and reflects the vision of its new(ish) comms guru James Lyons, himself previously at TikTok and before that the NHS. It is an attempt to break out of the shackles of mainstream media — doing the broadcast round, talking to the newspapers — and tap into the sentiments of the deeper internet, where so many millions of voters are just hanging out.
Founded by Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian (also known as Mr Serena Williams) in America in 2005, Reddit has always been a low-fi, community-driven platform, beloved of niche communities or quirks. You might have a particular fascination for Lord of the Rings (join r/lotr) or need advice for a specific houseplant (r/orchids and r/plantclinic). Some subreddits are also plain daft, such as r/WolvesWithWatermelons and r/BreadStapledToTrees.
In these threads, users post either a question, observation or image, and then other users “upvote”, “downvote” or comment on the post. The more upvotes a post has, the higher it rises on the message board. It’s a community-driven meritocracy in its simplest form.
But after two decades of niche online discourse, brands and institutions are now muscling in. Jen Wong, chief operating officer at Reddit, believes that the platform appeals to institutions — the NFL, NBA, Nasa, the UK government and the White House have all joined recently — because it gives them a direct and fast communication line with followers.
“They’re able to learn what’s happening on the platform, comment, and then also get out information very quickly,” says Wong. “It’s very well moderated and doesn’t spiral into controversy. What Reddit is really good at is revealing opinions.”
Reddit’s recent surge has been a lucrative one. The company floated on the New York stock exchange and is valued at $15.4 billion (£11.9 billion). It operated at a loss for its first 20 years, but 2024 was its first profitable year (it made $29.9 million) and in February it announced a 39 per cent yearly increase in its daily active users to 101.7 million — Britain is its second most active country after the US.
The platform has benefited from the toxification of Twitter/X since it was taken over by Elon Musk, and from many users becoming fed up with the relentless influencing and advertising that bursts out of every seam on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram. It is less polished and more discussion-heavy.
One of these users is Philip Bevan-Baird, 33, from Newcastle, who avoids X, TikTok and Facebook, and started using Reddit about 12 years ago to read about Marvel films. “I see Reddit as more of a community, it’s more egalitarian,” he says. Whereas X and TikTok are focused on the individual, on Reddit users are often anonymous, and value is placed on the content instead.
So who exactly is Labour trying to reach on Reddit? “Reddit UK’s user base skews younger, male [the platform is about 60 per cent male], tech savvy, politically outspoken but not necessarily loyal to any party,” says the social media consultant Matt Navarra. Labour’s Reddit play, he says, “is about reaching the disillusioned, the politically curious, those flirting with Reform or sitting on the fence”.
Many Reddit users are “anti-establishment but not necessarily hard right,” Navarra adds. “They’re often sceptical of mainstream media and they love to challenge authority. Labour is clearly hoping to … pull some attention back from the populist fringe. It wants to build credibility in a space where voters aren’t afraid to call out hypocrisy and waffle or empty slogans.”
But with this scrappiness — part of the platform’s USP — come risks. One of Reddit’s big challenges is moderation of disinformation, and questions about online harm and child safety. Reddit is “no longer a scrappy start-up”, says Navarra. “Governments now see Reddit as a mainstream influence platform — that comes with regulation.”
Being on Reddit is one thing, but succeeding there is another. Asad Moghal, digital director at political advisory firm Portland, reckons Labour are “doing a fairly good job” so far. He says that politicians using the platform is nothing new — Barack Obama used Reddit in the 2012 election campaign and Donald Trump in 2016 — where they took part in “AMAs” — ask me anything — where users submitted questions that the politicians then answered. But Moghal says, “what’s interesting to compare is how Labour are now using this as more of a newsroom” — so posting links to (favourable) articles on their policies.
“A lot of our clients are looking towards Reddit as a platform to engage that younger audience,” says Moghal. “Reform are doing quite well because of the demographic they naturally appeal to — those demographics are heavily on those platforms — and let’s not forget Nigel Farage is very good at playing the media.”
Navarra says Labour’s Reddit experiment will be a test of message, discipline and authenticity. “Labour’s not just chasing reach, they’re chasing relevance,” he says. “Reddit, messy as it is, is where a lot of quiet political shifts are happening. Reform knows that, now Labour knows that too. It’s not a battleground, it’s more of a barometer. But if Labour can win over the Reddit crowd, they might just win the room.”
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/social-media/article/reddit-new-election-battleground-zqgh3n73k (Archive)
