Alexis Ohanian states he left Reddit board to assist make ‘genuine favorable modification’

Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian resigned from the business’s board recently in an effort to press the platform to end up being more varied. Reddit on Wednesday made great on its guarantee to employ a black board member, designating Y Combinator CEO Michael Seibel. 

On Thursday, Ohanian, who co-founded Reddit in 2005 with Steve Huffman and Aaron Swartz, informed CBS This Morning that leaving the business was a “hard decision,” however that he did it for his his 2-year-old child and his partner, tennis pro Serena Williams. (Editors’ note: CNET and CBS This Morning are both part of ViacomCBS.)

“Reddit was my first child. I started it right out of college,” Ohanian informed CBS This Morning. “But looking inward, it was a hard decision until it was a really easy one … when I remembered that my greatest creation is not and never will be Reddit. It’s my daughter, and I want her to be proud of her father.”

Ohanian revealed his resignation from the Reddit board on June 5, advising the business to fill his seat with a black prospect. His resignation followed criticism of Reddit on June 2 from previous CEO Ellen Pao for “amplifying” bigotry and hate. In a post Friday, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman stated the platform will likewise alter its content policy to “explicitly address hate.”

“I think if we follow this drumbeat of support, both offline and online, I think we’re going to see more and more tech businesses in particular taking more responsibility over not just the content on their platforms, but also the diversity of their workforces,” Ohanian informed CBS This Morning. 

The modifications come as Black Lives Matter demonstrations continue throughout the United States and the world, with individuals showing versus the current deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, and versus systemic bigotry. 

Black Lives Matter. Visit blacklivesmatter.carrd.co to find out how to contribute, sign petitions and demonstration securely.