Reddit banned the r/Gore and r/WatchPeopleDie subreddits on Friday following the mosque shooting in New Zealand. Prior to the attack, the platform seemingly had no problem with the popular subreddits dedicated to graphic videos.
According to the Daily Beast, those visiting the two subreddits on Friday “were met with a message saying the forums had been ‘banned from Reddit.’”
The Daily Beast reported that the subreddits were banned for allowing users to post content from the New Zealand massacre, with a moderator for r/WatchPeopleDie declaring, “Hopefully Reddit believes in letting you decide for yourself whether or not you want to see unfiltered reality.”
In a statement, a Reddit spokesman proclaimed, “We are very clear in our site terms of service that posting content that incites or glorifies violence will get users and communities banned from Reddit. Subreddits that fail to adhere to those site-wide rules will be banned.”
An alleged source at Reddit also told the Verge, “Reddit’s approach is very contextual and, you know, it depends on the nature of the conversation around these kinds of issues.”
“Now, we were very clear from the beginning that the manifesto, the video — those were not allowed to be posted on Reddit. And those are getting removed across the site. However, these communities are not abiding by those rules and are in fact tipping over to the glorification of violence or celebrating violence,” they continued. “That is when the ban hammer comes down.”
In 2016, moderators on the popular subreddit r/News responded to the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando by banning posts mentioning the attack, even removing a post offering blood donation advice.
Reddit has previously banned controversial communities, including subreddits for Qanon conspiracy theories, anti-fat people posts, and questionable sexual content.
Banned subreddits include: r/FatPeopleHate, r/GreatAwakening, r/Jailbait, r/CreepShots, r/Beatingwomen, r/The Fappening, r/Pizzagate, r/Incels, r/Deepfakes, r/GunsForSale, and even r/MillionDollarExtreme — a subreddit for fans of the post-ironic comedy troupe Million Dollar Extreme.
Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter, or like his page at Facebook.
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