Reddit deploys AI to block 23 million spam views a day, speeds up content moderation

New Delhi: Reddit strengthened its AI-powered moderation systems to curb spam, fake engagement and harmful content, saying the latest upgrades have significantly improved the platform's ability to detect and remove abusive behaviour before users see it. In a blog post published on Monday, the social media platform said its new automated systems now block around 23 million spam views every day before they reach users. The company also said it detects nearly 25,000 new spam posts and comments daily. According to Reddit, the AI-driven tools have reduced users' exposure to spam by about 20% between January and March 2026, compared with the previous three months. Overall exposure to spam accounts has also declined by another 10-15%, it said. The company added that it is revoking nearly 2 million fake or inauthentic votes every day, aimed at limiting artificial promotion and coordinated manipulation on the platform. Reddit said it is increasingly using large language models (LLMs) to identify sophisticated spam networks and coordinated inauthentic behaviour that traditional detection systems often miss. It also analyses signals when new accounts are created to identify suspicious activity before such accounts begin posting. The platform recently introduced additional verification checks for accounts suspected of being automated bots. Reddit also highlighted improvements in tackling harmful content, including hate speech, harassment, and violent threats. It said its AI-powered enforcement system can now detect and act against such content in under five seconds on average for English-language posts. The company said enforcement actions against hateful and violent content have increased by more than 200%, while user exposure to such content has fallen by over 40%. At the same time, false positives, where legitimate content is removed incorrectly, have declined by more than 40%, it added. Reddit said its moderation system combines platform-wide safety teams, volunteer community moderators and user voting to identify and reduce the visibility of rule-breaking content. The company said it has been combating spam and bot activity for more than two decades and will continue investing in AI tools while adapting its moderation systems as online threats evolve.