My guess is Reddit is doing this to temporarily raise traffic. It’s like rage bait. They know they’re pissing people off and protestors will flood the site, but traffic is traffic. If they can demonstrate engagement it must be good enough for the upcoming IPO.
My sister got me an electric blanket some Christmases ago, one of the thick ones that heats up when you plug it in. I use it all the time - best xmas gift ever!