Digg is Coming Back! Can It Compete with Reddit Today?

Once a dominant force in social news, Digg is making an unexpected return. Over a decade after its decline and sale in 2012, founder Kevin Rose has reacquired the platform. He has teamed up with Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian to rebuild Digg for a new era, integrating artificial intelligence and a renewed focus on community engagement.

Rose will serve as board chair, bringing his experience and vision for Digg’s resurgence. Justin Mezzell has been appointed CEO, with a strong background in design and product development. Ohanian joins as an adviser, lending his expertise from building Reddit into one of the internet’s most influential platforms. The project is backed by venture capital funding from Rose’s True Ventures and Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six, reinforcing their commitment to Digg’s revival.

One of the biggest shifts for Digg is its integration of artificial intelligence. AI will play a key role in filtering spam, improving moderation, and ensuring discussions remain constructive. It will also enhance content discovery, helping users find the most relevant posts while maintaining a balance between algorithm-driven suggestions and organic engagement. Unlike other platforms where AI dominates feeds, Digg aims to use it as a tool to support human interaction rather than replace it.

The platform is returning to its core model of social news sharing, where users can post, comment, and vote on content. However, the controversial “Bury” feature, which previously allowed users to downvote content into obscurity, has been removed to promote a more constructive environment. Digg is also rethinking how engagement is measured, aiming to reward quality contributions rather than focusing on follower counts and popularity-driven content.

With Reddit’s dominance in user-driven communities, Digg faces a tough challenge in standing out. The new approach seeks to address some of the issues that have frustrated Reddit users, such as inconsistent moderation and algorithmic manipulation. Digg is also offering more community tools, giving users greater control over how their spaces function and interact.

Despite its ambitious plans, Digg will have to navigate several challenges. AI moderation, while promising, must strike the right balance to avoid over-policing content or allowing harmful discussions to flourish. The bigger question is whether people will return to Digg, especially with so many competing platforms already established. Avoiding the pitfalls of modern social media—toxicity, spam, and algorithmic bias—will be key to its success.

Currently in its prototype phase, Digg features a homepage, sub-communities, and basic functionalities. The team is actively gathering user feedback before expanding further. Early access invitations are expected in the coming weeks, with a gradual rollout planned to refine the platform based on community input.

Digg’s return is both a revival and a reinvention, blending its original vision with modern technology. Whether it can recapture its former influence or carve out a new niche remains to be seen, but it’s a rare second chance for a platform once thought to be lost to internet history.