traffic has returned to normal

This is a very non-specific statement. As a former moderator, Reddit gave us lots of metrics to measure "traffic". Site visits, unique visits, engagement.... all of these can be used to talk about "traffic". It's also not hard to spin up a couple bots, talk about site visits, not unique visits and call everything "normal".

Metrics, especially vanity metrics are very easy to twist if you have a narrative to tell. And boy, does Reddit, Inc. have a narrative to tell.