Chances Reddit did this on purpose to hide the content blackout?

Doesn't look like it.

We're aware of problems loading content and are working to resolve the issues as quickly as possible.

I'm 99% sure those are automated, so it really doesn't say anything.

Looks like it's just access to the platform, not the platform itself. Could be a CDN issue or they could be implementing how reddit is accessed. I'm guessing the former.

I would guess the latter. They're trying to roll out the new pricing tier at the start of next month, so pushing a change about 2 weeks ahead of that seems reasonable.

But I guess we'll see. I doesn't impact me anymore. ;)