by killing them third party apps they avoid questions from investors about loopholes in their ad feeding platform
No mission, only revenue... and smoke and mirrors? A bait-and-switch to fool investors?
Because if third-party app usage really is that low, and Reddit is losing money regardless, you're describing putting a Band-aid on a hemorrhage and declaring the patient cured.
Are investors really that stupid? Just another meaningless ritualistic sacrifice at the altar of investment capitalism? "Show them that you're doing something. Just do something, make a splash, whatever it is, I don't care. Act like you're REALLY busy. Enough sucker investors won't look into the numbers." And how is this any different from incompetent russian generals invading Ukraine? They look to me like mirror images of each other.
Then again, there's greed, the impulse for total control, biting off more than you can chew then not being able to back down because of pride and arrogance, emotional incompetence, and damn the consequences, both short and long term, the collateral damage. And here the Ukraine analogy is once again wafting across my mind.
EDIT: After all, so many of these corporate assholes - Walmart, Home Depot, Nestlé, and yes, Twitter and Reddit - they DO lean right wing.