Can Digg's return fix what ails social media today? Reddit's cofounder is betting on it

In 2006, Digg, a social networking and bookmarking site, was one of the most popular websites. Today, many of you have probably never even heard of this Reddit-like site. Now, in a surprising turn of events, Digg is attempting a comeback, backed by an unlikely alliance between its founder, Kevin Rose, and former rival Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit.

Social networks have become toxic

Why? Because, as you may have noticed, social networks have become increasingly unpleasant. Meta, like X (Twitter) before it, has rolled back its fact-checking program on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. As a result, all these networks have become more toxic.

Digg’s new team sees this. They declared, “The current social media landscape, community discourse has grown increasingly combative, cluttered, and exhausting. Users are bogged down by misinformation, spam, and the emotional toll of navigating hostile interactions.”

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Ironically, it is just such failures that brought Digg down in the first place. Digg’s disgrace began in 2010 when it was revealed that the so-called Digg Patriots were engaged in a widespread censorship campaign against left-leaning users. Using multiple accounts, up-vote padding, and ban campaigns, they muzzled liberal conversation on the site for months.

In response, Rose removed the power of users to up-vote and down-vote stories. This failed. The Digg community hated this change. The users saw Digg was no longer a “site built by the community, for the community” and left. Digg never recovered, and Reddit largely took its place.

Digg 2.0: ‘Humanity and connection’ at its core

Rose and Ohanian’s answer today? “Digg plans to become an online destination with humanity and connection at its core,” they’ve said in a press release. Their vision for the new Digg is to restore the spirit of discovery and genuine community that characterized the early days of the internet. That’s easier said than done.

The pair explained that they plan on doing this by incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance user experience and moderation. Rose explained, “We’ve hit an inflection point where AI can become a helpful co-pilot to users and moderators, not replacing human conversation, but rather augmenting it, allowing users to dig deeper, while at the same time removing a lot of the repetitive burden for community moderators.” 

Thus, AI will handle routine tasks such as spam filtering and toxic content removal, allowing human moderators to focus on fostering positive interactions within communities.

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Ohanian added, “Online communities thrive when there’s a balance between technology and human judgment. We’re bringing Digg back to ensure that balance exists.”

Ohanian also recognizes the importance of moderators. These people play a major role in such networks as Reddit for setting the tone of groups and keeping them on track. However, they are largely ignored. For example, Reddit moderators aren’t paid even as Reddit stock sells for over $160 a share. This is a problem. In a New York Times interview, he said, “What we never focused on is the back end,” which are the moderation tools. “But it’s the back end that really, really matters.”

Speaking as someone who, in a still earlier generation, helped moderate pre-internet social networks on CompuServe and AT&T Interchange and Usenet groups, truer words have seldom been spoken. A well-managed group can be a pleasure to its users, but one that isn’t can become a sordid mess, such as 4Chan. Good tools that help moderators make managing groups much easier.

To address this, one of the key innovations in Digg’s moderation approach will be a more nuanced system for content visibility. Instead of simply banning or allowing content, the platform will adjust visibility based on community standards. For example, posts that don’t align with a group’s tone may have reduced visibility, encouraging adherence to community norms.

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Justin Mezzell, a long-time Rose collaborator, has been appointed CEO of the new Digg. The leadership team’s goal is to create an environment where users can engage earnestly, learn from each other, and share their passions without the toxicity that plagues many current social media platforms.

A fresh alternative, if it works

The revival of Digg comes at a time when the social media landscape is in flux. With Twitter’s transformation under Elon Musk, Meta’s shift toward video content, and Reddit’s recent public offering, Rose and Ohanian see an opportunity to offer a fresh alternative.

Of course, other newer social network alternatives such as Bluesky and Mastodon exist. These are gaining popularity, largely, it appears, at X’s expense. Personally, Bluesky is my favorite.

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Is Digg’s relaunch just a nostalgic nod to a bygone era of social media, or can Digg be revived? We’ll see. Rose has ambitious plans for the platform’s future. He believes Digg’s agility will allow it to quickly adapt and innovate more than its larger competitors. Rose said, “Our goal isn’t just to honor Digg’s legacy as a trusted news source and discussion hub, but to evolve it.”

Ohanian concluded, “Kevin and I are here to build something better than what social platforms are offering today. AI should handle the grunt work in the background while humans focus on what they do best: building real connections.”

As invitations for the new Digg begin rolling out in the coming weeks, we’ll see if this blast from the past can successfully reimagine itself. With its focus on AI-assisted moderation, community-driven content, and a return to the spirit of discovery, Digg’s revival could reshape the social media landscape.