Reddit’s volunteer transcribers quit over API changes

Photo by Brett Jordan / Unsplash

Reddit's volunteer transcribers are quitting over the company's API changes. The r/TranscribersOfReddit community, which provides accessibility features like alt text and captions for media posts, will shut down on June 30. That's a day before Reddit starts charging for API access.

The group says Reddit has failed to fix core issues with the platform and has shown a clear disregard for accessibility. It also says the third-party apps that Reddit will exempt from the API fees (like RedReader, Dystopia, and Luna) are not suitable for blind and visually impaired moderators.

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Reddit finally makes it easier to share posts on social media sites

Image: Reddit

Reddit has admitted that they "didn't make it easy" to share posts on other social media platforms. But now, it's changing course. The site gets an updated "shared link" preview for text posts, allowing recipients to see what's in the link before clicking. It shows a visual preview of the content, subreddit name, total upvotes, and comments. 

There's also a new sharing option on Instagram Stories. And a one-tap screenshot-sharing experience so you don't have to save screenshots to your device before sharing them. Reddit also introduces a new embedding toolbox that makes it easier to embed posts on CMS platforms like WordPress, which has long been available on other social media platforms.

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Reddit got hacked through a phishing attack targeting its employees

Photo: Brett Jordan/Unsplash

Bad actors were able to steal a Reddit employee's credentials through a targeted phishing attack, and hackers were able to infiltrate its systems on February 5. According to a spokesperson from the company, they were able to access some of the site's "internal docs, code, as well as some internal dashboards and business systems." Data like contact information for hundreds of company contracts, current and former employees, and some advertisers were also exposed. However, Reddit assures users that the security team investigating the incident hasn't found any evidence so far that the passwords or any other non-public data have been compromised. They haven't found any indication that the stolen information was shared online, at least for now. Reddit said they are "continuing to investigate and monitor the situation closely."

Reddit employees were apparently getting "plausible-sounding prompts" that lead to a website that mimics the look and behaviour of its intranet gateway. It was designed this way so they can steal people's logins and second-factor tokens. An employee, unfortunately, fell for the scheme but immediately self-reported. This allowed Reddit's security team to respond to the situation.

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Reddit's Clubhouse competitor is coming to subreddits

Source: Reddit

As rumoured earlier, Reddit has its take on Clubhouse's social audio offering. Called Reddit Talk, it'll be available within subreddits. But the feature is currently only available as a "sneak preview," and right now, only subreddit moderators can initiate a Talk. Hosts can invite, mute, and remove speakers. But any iOS or Android Reddit user can listen to these discussions. Moderators who are interested in trying out the feature can add themselves to a waitlist for access.

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