We at Pushshift, now part of the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), understand the concerns raised by Reddit Inc. regarding our services. We would like to take this opportunity to highlight the vital role our service plays within the Reddit community, as well as its significant contributions to the broader academic and research community, and we stand ready to collaborate with Reddit. 

Pushshift has been providing valuable services to the Reddit community for years, enabling moderators to effectively manage their subreddits, supporting research in academia (1000s of peer-reviewed citations), and serving a valuable historical archive of Reddit content. Starting in 2016 we began working with the Reddit community to develop much-needed tools to enhance the ability of moderators to perform their duties. 

Many moderators have shared their concerns about the potential loss of pushshift emphasizing its importance for their moderation tools, subreddit analysis, and overall management of large communities. One moderator, for instance, mentioned the invaluable ability to access comprehensive historical lists of submissions for their subreddit, crucial for training Automoderator filters. Another expressed concerns about the potential increase in spam content, and the impact on the quality of the platform due to losing access to Pushshift, which powers general moderation bots like BotDefense and repost detection bots. 

Reddit Inc. has mentioned that they are working on alternatives to provide moderators with supplementary tools, to replace Pushshift. We invite collaboration instead.  Afterall, Pushshift, since its inception, has built a trusted and highly engaged community of Pushshift users on the Reddit platform. 

Let’s combine our efforts to create a more streamlined, efficient, community-driven, and effective service that meets the needs of the moderation community and the research community while maintaining compliance with Reddit’s terms.

In addition to benefiting the Reddit community, Pushshift’s acquisition by NCRI has allowed us to engage in research that has identified online harms across social media, from self-harm communities, to emerging extremist groups like the Boogaloo and QAnon, online hate, and more. Our work, and our team members, are frequently cited and recognized by major media outlets such as the New York Times, Washington Post, 60 Minutes, NBC News, WSJ, and others. 

Considering the wide-ranging benefits of Pushshift for both the moderation community and the broader field of social media research, let’s explore partnership with Reddit Inc. This partnership would focus on ensuring that the vital services we provide can continue to be available to those who rely on them, from Reddit moderators, to academic institutions. We believe that working together, we can find a solution that maintains the value that Pushshift brings to the Reddit community.

Sincerely, 

The Network Contagion Research Institute and The Pushshift Team

For any inquiries please contact us at [email protected]