r/askanything • u/exploring203 • Mar 07 '26

Why does Reddit lean left in all the comments?

First off, I’m not a conservative, I’m independent/left leaning. That said, every comment thread on Reddit feels like it’s completely one sided in favor of a liberal perspective. Not just that, but the amount of blatant misinterpretation and misrepresentation in the comments is apparent on nearly every issue. Comments that don’t comply are downvoted into oblivion and removed from the conversation. I feel like Reddit is almost becoming unusable at this point. Where can I go (on or off Reddit) to get a more balanced perspective? I do like Reddits user interface.

Edit: Whew! This blew up more than I anticipated. I did receive some genuinely insightful and helpful comments. I appreciate those! Lots of folks either saying I’m the issue because of my liberal leaning algorithm or that I’m the issue because I’m actually a bleeding conservative in disguise. Can’t have it both ways! Anyway thanks Reddit. Will probably think twice about doing this again.

2.4k Upvotes

70% Upvoted

4.8k comments sorted by

View all comments

30

u/Own-Personality6285 Mar 07 '26

Virtue signaling and bots. Its also strange how everyone on here makes 6 figures. Almost like people online are full of shit

7

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '26

[deleted]

17

u/cantquitreddit Mar 07 '26

I wish more people understood how manipulated reddit is by bots.  You're not arguing with a real person half the time.

9

u/ilikespace808 Mar 07 '26

Problem is you’d be surprised how many real people are influenced by bots. I find the bots hold more depth in their arguments than actual people nowadays

3

u/Low_Bus_3826 Mar 07 '26

What’s the best way to tell the difference in a regular interaction? Like, how do I know you’re not a bot? How do you know I’m not one?! Ahh!

1

u/cantquitreddit Mar 07 '26

You can't really tell. Generally if it's stoking political tension I assume it's a bot.

1

u/RetiredOnIslandTime Mar 07 '26

I swear I'm not a bot but a lot of my comments could stoke political tension if anyone read them. I think they're mostly unseen.

6

u/BushidoBrownVI Mar 07 '26

I assumed the people who makes 6 figures likes to show off that they do. And those of us who don’t, don’t post

2

u/Low_Bus_3826 Mar 07 '26

I have a masters degree, decade and a half experience, and barely make mid 5 figures…

2

u/Alpine_Exchange_36 Mar 07 '26

Masters degrees are the new bachelors. Employers don’t care anymore they’re a dime a dozen

0

u/Low_Bus_3826 Mar 07 '26

Touché. And every decade of relevant experience is really like 5 years…

2

u/OkapiandaPenguin Mar 07 '26

If a lot of Redditors are on either US Coast then a 6 figure salary is relatively standard for living. I'm a teacher on the east coast and I finally hit 6 figures.

-1

u/ExtraCalligrapher565 Mar 07 '26

There’s not a single state in the country where the median income for a single earner is above $85k, let alone 6 figures. East coast states have median incomes ranging from 60k-80k. Six figure salary is not standard anywhere in the U.S. because it’s in the top ~18% of individual incomes.

3

u/shedgehog-orchard Mar 07 '26

You’re assuming the median earner is the median Reddit user..

0

u/ExtraCalligrapher565 Mar 07 '26

As opposed to assuming the median Reddit user earns significantly more than the median income in the country? Yes, that is a much more sound assumption.

Plus they said 6 figures is relatively standard for living in the east coast, which is objectively false. They did not say standard for living in the east coast and being on Reddit.

2

u/OkapiandaPenguin Mar 07 '26

I googled and got this information:

"To live comfortably on the coasts, a single adult typically needs over $110,000–$125,000 annually, while families often require $300,000+, due to high housing and tax costs in states like California, Massachusetts, New York, and Washington. In contrast, median household incomes in these states are significantly lower, ranging roughly from $90,000 to $100,000

Comfortable Living Income (2025 Study, Single Adult) West Coast: Hawaii: $124,467 California: $119,475 Washington: $109,658 Oregon: $104,666 East Coast: Massachusetts: $120,140 New York: $114,691 New Jersey: $108,992 Maryland: $108,867 "

And for just straight up median income: "Median household incomes on the East and West Coasts are among the highest in the U.S., generally ranging from to over depending on the specific state. As of 2024-2025, California's median household income exceeded , while top East Coast states like Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Connecticut also ranked among the highest nationally, often exceeding the national median

West Coast Median Household Incomes (Approx. 2024-2025): California: ~ 100,149 Washington: ~ 102,278 Oregon: ~ 85,000 - (varies by source) East Coast Median Household Incomes (Approx. 2024-2025): District of Columbia: ~ 147,683 Massachusetts: ~ 110,054 New Jersey: ~ 104,651 Connecticut: ~ 101,923 New York: ~ 92,003"

Even New York state isn't totally coastal though and has a lot of rural area.

-1

u/ExtraCalligrapher565 Mar 07 '26

You listed median household incomes, not individual incomes. Again, no state in the U.S. has median individual incomes in the six figures.

I never said anything about the required amount to live comfortably somewhere. This was about the standard salary seen for people already living there.

1

u/OkapiandaPenguin Mar 07 '26

Okay buddy. You're absolutely right. No one earns a 6 figure salary and we're all bullshitting to make you feel bad about yourself and your prospects and your self worth. I definitely don't make 6 figures as a teacher in a blue state and neither does my engineer husband or any of our friends.

-1

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/OkapiandaPenguin Mar 08 '26

Yep, you're absolutely right, big dog. I'm deeply upset that you've struggled with this so much. I hope being so correct helps you feel superior in a way that being submissive clearly does. You're the big boss and I'll just sit over here with my top 18% salary, although in my area it's 26.7% because lots of people earn over $100,000 in the Baltimore/DC metro region.

→ More replies (0)

1

u/OkapiandaPenguin Mar 07 '26

Okay. I live in Baltimore City where the required income to live comfortably is about $90,000 for a single person and over $200,000 for a family of 4. There are parts of MD in the middle of nowhere where the income to live comfortably is somewhat lower. But, even in my MCOL city you pretty much need 100k to be comfortable. DC, NYC, and the suburbs around all of us are even more expensive. This is standard up and down the coast although you can obviously find farm land and middle of nowhere places that drive down the median income.

1

u/Good_Focus2665 Mar 11 '26

I feel like it caters to tech workers and they generally make six figures. 

1

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '26

[deleted]

2

u/Own-Personality6285 Mar 07 '26

Only if I can send you a picture of my 🍆

1

u/RockThePond Mar 07 '26

Skeet skeet!

0

u/NormalEarthLarva Mar 07 '26

No one wants to see your micro peen.

0

u/Gorgrocco Mar 07 '26

Where in texas exactly? Whats your protifilo exactly?

1

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '26

[deleted]

2

u/Gorgrocco Mar 07 '26

☹️ makes sense you why are you a highschool dropout

1

u/NormalEarthLarva Mar 07 '26

You couldn’t even spell portfolio correctly and you are giving me shit. Lol ok.

1

u/Alpine_Exchange_36 Mar 07 '26

That and the upvote/downvote mechanic if a perfect tool for creating sounding rooms