Reddit's 'Restoring Truthiness' campaign breaks charity records
What happened
In September 2010, Reddit users launched a grassroots movement calling on Stephen Colbert to host a Washington rally in response to Glenn Beck's 'Restoring Honor' event. Dubbed 'Restoring Truthiness,' the campaign channeled its momentum into educational charities through DonorsChoose.org, raising over $100,000 in the first 24 hours and more than $250,000 within days. Donations arrived so quickly that DonorsChoose's servers buckled, and Reddit users shattered the site's previous fundraising record.
By the time the related Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear was held on October 30, 2010, the community had contributed over half a million dollars. The episode showcased Reddit's growing cultural and political influence and its ability to convert online enthusiasm into real-world action and money. Coming just months after the Haiti relief drive, 'Restoring Truthiness' cemented Reddit's reputation as a platform capable of mobilizing tens of thousands of users behind a single cause, a dynamic that would resurface repeatedly in its later activism.