Diply has been one of the great success stories of Canada’s startup boom, winning innovation awards, drawing international fanfare and tens of millions of readers for its punchy listicles, articles and videos on lifestyle issues, humour and online culture.

However, since Facebook changed its branded content policies and moved to restrict the amount of content from publishers in users’ News Feeds in January, Diply’s web traffic has tumbled, and its ability to draw viral clicks from Facebook has fallen dramatically.

As a result, Diply’s position as a leader in the viral content business may be in question, according to former employees.