SPLIFF SPLIT

Reddit Thumbs Nose At Corporate Parent Over Pro Pot Ad

By Elizabeth C.

Reddit logo MANAGERS AT THE SOCIAL NEWS SITE REDDIT HAVE THUMBED THEIR NOSES AT ITS PARENT company -- publishing giant Condé Nast -- by running a pro marijuana ad campaign for free.

The "Just Say Now" advertisement aims to influence the outcome of California's Proposition 19 which asks voters to legalize growing pot for personal use.

Facebook banned the same ad complaining the ad depicting a marijuana leaf violated its terms of service.

Condé Nast had also rejected the ads, but Reddit managers publicly protested the company's decision, releasing a statement:

"The reddit admins were just blindsided with news that, apparently, we're not allowed to take advertising money from sites that support California's Prop 19 ... There’s a lot of rabble flying around, and we wanted to make some points:
This was a decision made at the highest levels of Conde Nast.
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."

Reddit managers have already halted the ad runs, but their defiance cranks up the volume of the debate over legalizing pot and puts the first crack in the walls between conventional and Internet management.