I think the premise of this is off. Instagram doesn't pay people either. The fascinating and difficult part of reddit's business is that almost the entire value

I think the premise of this is off. Instagram doesn't pay people either. The fascinating and difficult part of reddit's business is that almost the entire value of the platform is controlled by moderators. So if you want to influence reddit users you're better of doing deals with the mods than with reddit itself. Of course, because reddit doesn't have any real relationship with the moderators it's very easy for these mods to go off and do deals with advertisers directly with no oversight. We can probably argue about how often that happens, but there can't really be any doubt that it does happen. It's only when it boils over into public beef that we ever get a real glimpse of it[1]. But you don't have to be a genius to understand that some sub-reddits are just absolutely ripe for advertising - how much do you think it's worth for Uniqlo to be at the top of a fashion guide on /r/malefashionadvice? I'd bet you it's good money. [1]:https://www.insider.com/wallstreetbets-reddit-bans-moderators-gamestop-started-movie-deal-coup-2021-2 https://www.insider.com/wallstreetbets-reddit-bans-moderator...