Shares of cash-strapped Redbox Entertainment began to level off Thursday after a spike caused by the same Reddit anti-short-seller phenomenon that momentarily boosted similarly troubled AMC and GameStop last year, and more recently, bankrupt cosmetics company Revlon. 

Redbox, which is trying to transition its business from DVD kiosk rentals to ad-supported streaming and went public via special purpose acquisition company late last year, found itself cash-strapped and on the ropes on May 11, when Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment announced a $375 million all-stock deal to buy the company. 

With that deal still pending, and Redbox getting attention from short-sellers, the stock bottomed out on May 13 at $2.68 a share. That's when the denizens of the RDBX subreddit took notice and began to buy shares in an effort to thwart the short-sellers. 

By June 13, Redbox was trading at $15.27 a share on the Nasdaq. (It had leveled off to $9.85 a share as of after-hours trading Thursday.)

"Will RDBX stock follow the same path as AMC stock of 2021?" asked one poster. 

It was around the same time last year that a subreddit for AMC Holdings rose up to spite traders who place bets in the casino known as Wall Street on the stock going down (aka short sellers), spiking the crippled theater chain owners stock by nearly 6X. 

AMC Holdings stock ultimately returned to around the level it was trading at before the Reddit trading community got involved. 

Social media giants are the latest subpoena targets in the investigation of the House Select Committee on the January 6 attack, which the committee says social media “products” helped organize.

Getting the subpoenas were Alphabet (Google), Meta (Facebook), Reddit and Twitter.

Committee chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said that the move to force their cooperation came after what he called “inadequate responses to prior requests for information” issued in August.

The committee wants information on “the spread of misinformation, efforts to overturn the 2020 election, domestic violent extremism and foreign influence in the 2020 election.”

Thompson said the committee wants to know how the “spread of misinformation and violent extremism” helped fule the attack and what social media companies did, if anything, to try to prevent their platforms from being “breeding grounds” for radicalization.

Also: Sen. Ed Markey Ties Big Tech to January 6 Riots

The committee explained why it picked those four platforms, besides the obivious one about their size and power:

“Alphabet’s YouTube was a platform for significant communications by its users that were relevant to the planning and execution of the January 6th attack on the United States Capitol, including livestreams of the attack as it was taking place.

“Meta platforms were reportedly used to share messages of hatred, violence, and incitement; to spread misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories around the election; and to coordinate or attempt to coordinate the Stop the Steal movement. Public accounts about Facebook’s Civic Integrity Team indicate that Facebook has documents that are critical to the Select Committee’s investigation.

“Reddit was the platform for the ‘r/The_Donald’ ‘subreddit’ community that grew significantly on Reddit before migrating to the website TheDonald.win in 2020, which ultimately hosted significant discussion and planning related to the January 6th attack.

“Twitter subscribers reportedly used the platform for communications regarding the planning and execution of the assault on the United States Capitol, and Twitter was reportedly warned about potential violence being planned on the site in advance of January 6th. Twitter users also engaged in communications amplifying allegations of election fraud, including by [former President Donald Trump] himself.” ■

Internet companies including Reddit, Etsy and Dropbox have joined other Tech companies warning Congress anew about tinkering with their Sec. 230 shield from civil immunity for the third party content on their platforms.

That comes on the eve of a March 25 hearing in the House Energy & Commerce Committee on Big Tech's hosting of potentially dangerous disinformation.

Also Read: House Readies Disinformation Nation Hearing

The Internet Works coalition of slightly-less-big tech said that while they recognized "the harms that misinformation and extremism present online" and say they appreciate the light congress is putting on those "challenges," they also said that as the committee figures out how to meet those challenges, "it is important to remember that Section 230 does far more than protect internet businesses and organizations from liability when they host third-party content."

As have other big tech defenders, the group said Sec. 230 actually ensures safety.

Also Read: Sec. 230 Carve-Out Bill Reintroduced

They said there was no "one size fits all" answer for how to moderate content, "as Congress considers potential changes to Section 230, it’s important to remember that the law’s flexibility has allowed companies of all sizes to flourish and tackle the harms that are unique to their platforms."

They are particularly concerned that changes aimed at the largest social media platforms--like Google and Facebook and Twitter--"do not create unintended consequences for the rest of the internet." 

The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) similarly warned about the consequences of damaging their liability shield.

A handful of prominent edge players including Mozilla and Reddit have asked the FCC to reinstate the net neutrality rules, but that is almost certainly not going to happen until there is a Democratic majority on the commission.

In a letter dated March 19, the above two joined by ADT, Dropbox, Eventbrite, Vimeo and Wikimedia, wrote acting chair Jessica Rosenworcel saying those fundamental safeguards--rules preventing blocking, throttling and paid prioritization, are critical to preserving a free and open internet.

Their support is no surprise since they backed the rules ultimately eliminated by the Republican FCC under chairman Ajit Pai. Mozilla, for example, was the lead challenger to Pai's Restoring Internet Freedom order deregulating internet access.

But what would be a surprise is if Rosenworcel tried to restore the rules while there is still a 2-2 political tie on the commission. Both Republicans are on the record as having issues with net neutrality rules.

It is unclear when the FCC will get a third Democrat, either a new chair if President Joe Biden does not decide to make Rosenworcel his choice for chair, or a third Democratic commissioner if he does.

Either way, the nomination has to be made, then the Senate has to vet and vote the nominee.

The longer Rosenworcel is in the chair, the more likely she will get to remove the "acting" from her title, said one veteran FCC transition watcher.

One possibility for the holdup could if the Congressional Black Caucus is still lobbying for current Democratic Commissioner Geoffrey Starks to be named chair. It would unusual for Starks to leap-frog Rosenworcel, who is the senior Democrat had has strong Hill backing as well, but the caucus came out in support of his chairmanship.

If Rosenworcel does get the chair, top candidates for the third Democratic seat include Edward “Smitty” Smith, a partner at law firm DLA Piper who has experience with overseeing multibillion-dollar broadband subsidies at the National Telecommunications & Information Administration and at the FCC, as an adviser to the Broadcast Incentive Auction Task Force, and Anna Gomez of D.C. powerhouse law firm Wiley (formerly Wiley Rein).

Reddit has dropped its The_Donald subreddit, an influential pro-Trump community, for alleged "hate speech" and harassment.

The_Donald boasts more than 790,000 users who post memes, viral videos and supportive messages about Mr. Trump.

“Reddit is a place for community and belonging, not for attacking people,” said Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, in a call with reporters, an event covered by The New York Times. “‘The_Donald’ has been in violation of that.” 

The move came simultaneously to Amazon's Twitch kicking the president off its platform for alleged "hateful conduct." Twitch cited two offending videos, one of which featured footage from Trump's Tulsa, Okla., rally during which he described Mexican nationals as "bad hombres."

“Hateful conduct is not allowed on Twitch. In line with our policies, President Trump’s channel has been issued a temporary suspension from Twitch for comments made on stream, and the offending content has been removed," Amazon said in a statement.

Ironically, the president has been calling on social internet platforms to take more responsibility for moderating their content, but his goal has been to cut down on the censorship of conservative speech.

The moves follow Facebook's decision to start removing or labeling content related to the upcoming election or that incites violence, which in turn follows Twitter's labeling of tweets by President Trump as inciting violence and not relaying accurate information about elections.

That drew strong pushback from the President and was seen as, in part, a spur to his executive order seeking the help of Congress or the FCC or both to regulate social media content and alter or eliminate web sites' Section-230 immunity (via the Communications Decency Act) from civil liability over how they moderate third-party content posted on their sites. That allows them to remove most content, or leave it up, without fear of being sued.

Reddit reserves the right to ban communities, but it is a last resort, literally, on its enforcement policy. As to hate speech: "Communities and users that incite violence or that promote hate based on identity or vulnerability will be banned," it said.

According to various reports (and Reddit posts), Reddit has dropped its The_Donald subreddit of Trump fans over "hate speech" and harassment.

Ironically, the president has been calling on Web sites to take more responsibility for moderating their content, but his goal has been to cut down on the censorship of conservative speech.

Amazon's Twitch also has temporarily kicked the president off its platform for alleged "hateful conduct." Twitch cited two offending videos, one of which featured footage from Trump's Tulsa, Oklahoma, rally during which he described Mexican nationals as "bad hombres."

“Hateful conduct is not allowed on Twitch. In line with our policies, President Trump’s channel has been issued a temporary suspension from Twitch for comments made on stream, and the offending content has been removed," Amazon said in a statement.

The moves follow Facebook's decision to start removing or labeling content related to the upcoming election or that incites violence, which in turn follows Twitter's labeling of tweets by President Trump as inciting violence and not relaying accurate information about elections.

That drew strong pushback from the president and was seen as, in part, a spur to his Executive Order seeking the help of Congress or the FCC or both to regulate social media content and alter or eliminate web sites' Section 230 (of the Communications Decency Act) immunity from civil liability over how they moderate third-party content posted on their sites. That allows them to remove most content, or leave it up, without fear of being sued.

Reddit reserves the right to ban communities, but it is a last resort, literally, on its enforcement policy. As to hate speech: "Communities and users that incite violence or that promote hate based on identity or vulnerability will be banned," it said.

“Reddit has taken a big step in the right direction today by implementing and truly enforcing their updated, more robust hate speech policy," said UltraViolet spokesperosn Bridget Todd. "By defining who marginalized and vulnerable identity groups are, and what type of language will not be tolerated on their platform, Reddit is making more of an effort than other social media platforms to curb toxicity on the Internet. We applaud their decision to take a stand against violence, racism, misogyny, antisemitism and homophobia." 

Top execs from Google and Reddit will be among those testifying at a Hill hearing next week (Oct. 16) on Sec. 230, the Communications Decency Act provision that exempts social media platforms from liability for third party content posted and hosted on their sites. 

That is according to a witness list issued by the House Energy & Commerce Committee on the joint hearing in the Communications and Consumer Protection Subcommittees.  

Scheduled to testify are: Steve Huffman, Reddit co-founder and CEO; Danielle Keats Citron, professor, Boston University School of Law; Corynne McSherry, legal director, Electronic Frontier Foundation; Hany Farid, professor, University of California, Berkeley; Katherine Oyama, Google's global head of intellectual property policy; and Gretchen Peters, executive director, Alliance to Counter Crime Online. 

Not on the list was U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who the committee invited last week to testify but declined to do so, according to a committee staffer. 

Back in August, the bipartisan leadership of the committee asked Lighthizer, the Trump Administration's chief trade negotiator, not to "export" language mirroring the current Sec. 230 (Communications Decency Act) protection of websites from liability for third party content.   

Both Democrats and Republicans are pondering whether that liability protection should still apply, and they don't want it to be boilerplate in trade agreements struck by the Administration, in particular its current appearance in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Sec. 230 was adopted by Congress under the theory that those platforms were simply the online public square of ideas and that to make them liable would blow up their business model, or at the time (1996), nip it in the bud.   

Related: Bill Takes Big Bite out of Big Tech's Sec. 230 Shield 

That bud has bloomed and Congress is taking another look in the wake of concerns over disinformation, hate speech, allegations of bias and censorship, and more.   

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), one of social media's Hill critics, has called on the CEOs of Facebook, Google, Reddit and Twitter to investigate reports of a pro-Saudi disinformation campaign in the wake of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

He also wants them to look into reports that the Saudi government provided aid to the Trump campaign via social media platforms, disclose the findings, and notify users.

His office said that Blumenthal's letters to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the other CEOs came after news that botnets had increased efforts to push pro-Saudi propaganda on social media following Khashoggi's death and the eventual admission by the Saudi's that he had died in their consulate in Turkey.

“President Trump’s vigorous defense of the Saudi government following the murder of Jamal Khashoggi raises questions about his ties, financial and otherwise, to Saudi Arabia," said Blumenthal. "One such question is to what extent the Saudis provided assistance to the Trump campaign, including previously reported proposals to manipulate voters through social media and online platforms,” wrote Blumenthal.

Blumenthal has called for investigations of Google over its Google+ social media platform and has been critical of Facebook over its handling of sensitive info.

Television programming is transforming right in front of us, and the biggest factor instigating this change is consumers’ second screen. Between 60% and 70% of people have a second device in their hands when they’re watching TV. Their second-screen social activity while they consume media is shifting how entertainment franchises communicate with their audiences, course-correct their content and generate viewers.

Americans are watching more video content than ever. As subscription providers like Netflix and Hulu diversify, show marketers are left with the burning question: How should a franchise harness the power of social and leverage their online conversations?

Twitter is a hot spot for live television commentary. In general, the Twitter community has a lot to say, but hell hath no fury like an angry Pretty Little Liars fan scorned by the tumultuous show to which she is so loyal. The show averages 489,000 tweets from fans per episode, ranking No. 3 in Nielsen’s annual Social TV Report.

The gold and silver medals for most tweeted-about shows go, respectively, to AMC’s The Walking Dead and ABC’s The Bachelor, which bring in a combined 791,000 tweets during each episode. To put this in context, Twitter users send about 100,000 tweets per minute, meaning a typical hour sees about 600,000 tweets. TV programming is fundamentally changing the volume of content consumers publish every day. TV brands should monitor social conversation and sentiment on Twitter in order to effectively assess PR eff orts or course-correct the content it-self.

Reddit, also known as “the front page of the Internet,” is categorized by its passionate and engaged members. But with great engagement from the site’s 36 million users comes high skepticism.

Franchises like HBO’s Game of Thrones and Netflix’s Daredevil have successfully leveraged their show’s celebrity talent for interviews on Reddit’s AMA (Ask Me Anything) thread. This is perhaps the most efficient and authentic way to promote TV entertainment on Reddit — giving fans access to a show’s star power, as opposed to trying to hijack a conversation subreddit with brand messaging.

The Reddit community does not take well to blatant marketing; just ask Woody Harrelson about his abominable AMA, posted while promoting the film Rampart. The takeaway here? Do the research not only on the social platform, but on how fandom communities communicate and on which elements of a TV show they naturally gravitate to. If such elements are the show’s stars, then Reddit can effectively serve as a cost-efficient platform to connect the franchise to millions of fans in real time.

It’s no secret that YouTube stars like Grace Helbig and Tyler Oakley are the next A-listers. As they appear in more TV programming, the devoted fans that launched their stardom will come along for the ride.

Casting more Internet talent into traditional franchises will amplify online conversations around a given show, because their loyal audiences will follow them on any screen. Fandom is a strong factor in a YouTuber’s viral success. According to MTV Insights, 49% of 12-to-24-year-olds consider themselves “obsessed” with a YouTube star, which indicates influencer casting and integration is critical for young-adult programming.

The Internet hasn’t killed television, but is actively changing the way content is sourced, distributed, concepted, casted and marketed. Word to the wise: Plan for individual channels, and steer clear of spoiler alerts.

Dana Kelly is a social strategist at Los Angeles-based advertising agency Mistress.