Background
In 2022, the Government Communication Service (GCS) team conducted a comprehensive brand-safety assessment of Reddit, following media coverage that raised questions about content moderation on the platform. The assessment used the former SAFE principles (‘Safety and suitability’, ‘Advertising context’, ‘Freedom of speech’ and ‘Ethics and enforcement’).
This case study demonstrates how the new SAFER framework can be applied to assess complex digital environments where brand-safety risks need to be carefully weighed against the value of reaching audiences. It illustrates how government communicators can use the framework’s structured approach to systematically evaluate each principle, score risks based on likelihood and impact and work collaboratively with agency partners to develop platform-specific mitigations.
Rather than simply excluding higher-risk platforms, the framework enables evidence-based decisions that balance protecting the government brand and maintaining public trust with the need to communicate effectively where audiences are.
The challenge
A BBC Panorama documentary highlighted concerns about non-consensual intimate images appearing on various social media platforms, including Reddit. As a result, GCS recognised the need to formally reassess the platform’s suitability for hosting paid government advertising.
The brand-safety assessment process
The comprehensive evaluation examined Reddit across the framework’s former four principles (‘Safety and suitability’, ‘Advertising context’, ‘Freedom of speech’ and ‘Ethics and enforcement’), with particular focus on how the platform’s unique community-based structure could be leveraged to mitigate identified risks.
Each criterion was scored based on likelihood and impact of risk occurring, with combined scores determining overall risk levels. The assessment indicated high risk for the ‘Safety’ principle, but low risk for the principles of ‘Advertising context’, ‘Freedom of speech’ and ‘Ethics’.
Recognising Reddit’s unique structure as a collection of diverse communities (subreddits), GCS worked with the government’s media-buying agency to develop a bespoke approach that would enable safe government use despite the overall high-risk categorisation. This platform-specific strategy included several key components:
- Applying the strictest brand-safety controls: Only using ‘Limited Mode’ inventory that offered additional levels of brand-safety measures and the most controlled reach for advertisers. This included use of technology that provides proactive content review and classification of each post to ensure advertising would appear only on suitably brand-safe subreddits, in addition to Reddit’s content guidelines for advertising.
- Taking an allowlist-only approach: All government advertising would appear exclusively on a further list of pre-approved, brand-safe subreddits. Non-allowlisted communities would be automatically excluded.
- Enhanced monitoring and verification: Implementation of third-party ad-verification technology where appropriate for the campaign, supporting campaigns to be viewable, fraud-free and brand-safe.
The results
Despite the overall high-risk categorisation due to safety and suitability concerns, the assessment concluded that Reddit could be safely used for government communications when platform-specific controls were properly implemented. The unique nature of Reddit’s community-based structure meant that risks could be effectively mitigated through careful community selection and robust technical safeguards, and through continued close collaboration with our agency partners.
The learnings
This case study illustrates how the framework principles can be adapted to complex digital environments, providing a pathway for government communicators to engage with audiences on platforms that might otherwise be considered unsuitable, whilst maintaining the highest standards of brand safety and public trust.