I really, really suspect that the big Lemmy instances are being run by Reddit admins or spooks or some-such. They’re moderating their instances in the exact same way Reddit did minus the profiteering. The censorship is the exact same.
It’s just the reality of online content moderation. The good mods/admins are people who are passionate about a topic and want to provide a space for discussion and community building. When it comes to the “power mods” or whatever, like those we saw on reddit who moderated 100+ subs, they’re just in it to stroke their own egos.
Idk honestly. Lemmy is quite an echo chamber in terms of tech stuff especially. I think reddit having much more content of all different types can make it a better user experience for most people. I find it hard to suggest lemmy for the average user who just wants to see memes and discussions based on their hobbies and interests. Lemmy is a lot less diverse.