{{short description|Controversial social news site subreddits}} thumb|Reddit Logo {{pp|reason=Persistent disruptive editing|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2021}}
On the social news site Reddit, some communities (known as ''subreddits'' or ''subs'') are centred around explicit, violent, propagandist, or hateful material. Many such subreddits have been the topic of controversy, at times receiving significant media coverage. Journalists, attorneys, media researchers, and others have commented that such communities shape and promote biased views of international politics, the veracity of evidence-based medicine, misogynistic rhetoric, and other socially disruptive concepts.
Contrary to popular opinion as well as previous staff practices and statements, the founders of Reddit have stated they did not intend the platform to be a "bastion of free speech", where hate speech would be tolerated.<ref name="bastion">{{cite web |last=Robertson |first=Adi |title=Was Reddit always about free speech? Yes, and no |url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/7/15/8964995/reddit-free-speech-history |website=The Verge |date=June 15, 2015 |access-date=September 22, 2021 |archive-date=May 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503022715/https://www.theverge.com/2015/7/15/8964995/reddit-free-speech-history |url-status=live }}</ref> However, for a period of time, Reddit allowed these controversial communities to operate largely unrestricted. The site's general manager, Erik Martin, has argued that objectionable material is a consequence of allowing free speech on the site.
Eventually, Reddit administrators instituted usage rules to allow for the banning of groups and members who stole or exposed personal information or images or promoted illegal activity, violence, shaming, race or gender-based hatred, harassment, or extremist speech. Nevertheless, there remain various active and heavily-trafficked subreddits which skirt the edges of the rules.
Critics argue that while concerned Redditors and moderators often report these subs, they often remain open until a specific incident, or the actions of an individual, forces them to come under more intense scrutiny and requires administrators to decide between allowing distasteful content or suppressing dangerous or destructive communities. Critics have also charged that the site has been inconsistent in what it bans. Some banned users and communities have created or moved to other platforms, with some even saving a duplicate of their subreddit in order to preserve it elsewhere, in the event it gets banned.
== History == When Reddit was founded in 2005, there was only one shared space for all links, and subreddits did not exist. Subreddits were created later, but initially they could only be created by Reddit administrators. In 2008, subreddit creation was opened to all users.<ref>{{Cite web |last=kethryvis |date=2022-02-15 |title=Why is Subreddit? Or, a Brief History of the Subreddit |url=http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit/comments/sta5wl/why_is_subreddit_or_a_brief_history_of_the/ |access-date=2022-10-16 |website=r/reddit |archive-date=October 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221017004045/https://www.reddit.com/r/reddit/comments/sta5wl/why_is_subreddit_or_a_brief_history_of_the/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=February 2026}}
Reddit rose to infamy in October 2011, when CNN reported that Reddit was harboring the {{proper name|r/Jailbait}} community, a subreddit devoted to sharing suggestive or revealing photos of underage girls. In a 2011 incident, an {{proper name|r/Jailbait}} user posted a provocative image of an underage girl. A wave of Reddit users ("Redditors") sent private messages to the poster requesting more photos of the girl. Various news sources criticized r/Jailbait, and Reddit administrators closed the forum.<ref name="jailbaitclosure">{{cite news |last=Morris |first=Kevin |date=October 11, 2011 |title=What r/jailbait's closure really means |newspaper=The Daily Dot |url=http://www.dailydot.com/society/reddit-r-jailbait-teen-pics-problem/ |url-status=live |access-date=October 28, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929234946/http://www.dailydot.com/society/reddit-r-jailbait-teen-pics-problem/ |archive-date=September 29, 2013}}</ref>
In 2012, the subreddit {{proper name|r/Creepshots}} received major backlash for sharing suggestive or revealing photos of women taken without their awareness or consent. Adrian Chen wrote a ''Gawker'' exposé of one of the subreddit's moderators and identified the person behind the account, starting discussion in the media about the ethics of anonymity and outing on the Internet.<ref name="Gawkerexpose">{{cite news |last=Chen |first=Adrian |date=October 12, 2012 |title=Unmasking Reddit's Violentacrez, The Biggest Troll on the Web |newspaper=Gawker |url=http://gawker.com/5950981/unmasking-reddits-violentacrez-the-biggest-troll-on-the-web |access-date=October 28, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012213707/http://gawker.com/5950981/unmasking-reddits-violentacrez-the-biggest-troll-on-the-web |archive-date=October 12, 2012}}</ref>
In 2020, administrators banned the subreddit r/The_Donald for harassment, having previously instructed moderators to take down content in violation of site policies as well as imposing a quarantine to reduce the subreddit's visibility.<ref>{{cite web |last=Robertson |first=Adi |url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/26/18759967/reddit-quarantines-the-donald-trump-subreddit-misbehavior-violence-police-oregon |title=Reddit quarantines Trump subreddit r/The_Donald for violent comments |publisher=The Verge |date=June 26, 2019 |access-date=April 20, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626195922/https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/26/18759967/reddit-quarantines-the-donald-trump-subreddit-misbehavior-violence-police-oregon |archive-date=June 26, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Isaac 2020"/>
== Quarantining ==
In 2015, Reddit introduced a quarantine policy to make it more difficult to visit certain subreddits. To visit or join a quarantined subreddit, users must bypass a warning prompt.<ref>{{Cite web |title=r/announcements - "Revamping the Quarantine Function" |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/9jf8nh/revamping_the_quarantine_function/ |website=reddit |date=September 27, 2018 |access-date=May 10, 2020 |archive-date=May 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200507045017/https://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/9jf8nh/revamping_the_quarantine_function/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, to prevent users from viewing their content accidentally, quarantined subreddits do not appear in non-subscription based (aggregate) feeds such as {{proper name|r/all}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Quarantined Subreddits |url=https://reddit.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043069012-Quarantined-Subreddits |access-date=2022-04-10 |website=Reddit Help |language=en-US |archive-date=April 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402205343/https://reddit.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043069012-Quarantined-Subreddits |url-status=dead }}</ref> Additionally, quarantined subs do not generate revenue, and their user count is not visible. Since 2018, subreddits have been allowed to appeal a quarantine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reddit updates its quarantine policy with an appeals process |url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/28/17914240/reddit-update-quarantine-policy-appeals-process |last=Stephen |first=Bijan |date=September 28, 2018 |website=The Verge |access-date=May 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703234245/https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/28/17914240/reddit-update-quarantine-policy-appeals-process |archive-date=July 3, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>
== Misinformation ==
Reddit is highly prone to the spread of misinformation and disinformation due to its decentralized moderation, user anonymity, and lack of fact-checking systems.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.newamerica.org/oti/reports/how-internet-platforms-are-combating-disinformation-and-misinformation-age-covid-19/reddit/ |title=How Internet Platforms Are Combating Disinformation and Misinformation in the Age of COVID-19 |website=New America |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230318165657/https://www.newamerica.org/oti/reports/how-internet-platforms-are-combating-disinformation-and-misinformation-age-covid-19/reddit/ |archive-date=18 March 2023}}</ref> A 2023 NPR article suggested that Redditors should exercise caution before taking user-created unsourced content as fact.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/12/08/786039738/managing-misinformation-on-reddit |title=Managing Misinformation On Reddit |last=Garcia-Navarro |first=Lulu |date=December 8, 2019 |website=NPR |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321115549/http://www.npr.org/2019/12/08/786039738/managing-misinformation-on-reddit/ |archive-date=21 March 2023}}</ref> Reddit communities exhibit the echo chamber effect, in which repeated unsourced statements come to be accepted among the community as fact, leading to distorted worldviews among users.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cinnelli |first1=Matteo |last2=De Francisci Morales |first2=Gianmarco |last3=Galeazzi |first3=Alessandro |last4=Starnini |first4=Michele |date=February 23, 2021 |title=The echo chamber effect on social media |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=118 |issue=9 |article-number=e2023301118 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2023301118 |pmid=33622786 |pmc=7936330 |bibcode=2021PNAS..11823301C |doi-access=free }}</ref>
===Medical misinformation=== A 2021 letter from the United States Senate to Reddit CEO Steve Huffman expressed concern about the spread of COVID-19 misinformation on the platform.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lujan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/lujan-klobuchar-heinrich-urge-reddit-to-combat-health-misinformation/ |title=Luján, Klobuchar, Heinrich Urge Reddit to Combat Health Misinformation |website=United States Senate |date=October 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230912073630/https://www.lujan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/lujan-klobuchar-heinrich-urge-reddit-to-combat-health-misinformation/ |archive-date=12 September 2023}}</ref> A study the following year revealed an abundance of unsourced and potentially harmful medical advice on Reddit for urinary tract infections, like suggesting fasting as a cure.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.urologytimes.com/view/reddit-study-shows-abundance-of-misinformation-on-recurrent-utis |title=Reddit study shows abundance of misinformation on recurrent UTIs |website=Urology Times |last1=Hart |first1=Janelle |date=February 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230318172515/https://www.urologytimes.com/view/reddit-study-shows-abundance-of-misinformation-on-recurrent-utis |archive-date=18 March 2023}}</ref>
===Foreign influence=== Critics have argued that since 2019, Russian-sponsored troll accounts and bots have taken over prominent left-wing and right-wing subreddits such as {{proper name|r/antiwar}}, {{proper name|r/greenandpleasant}}, and {{proper name|r/aboringdystopia}}, "suggest[ing] a Russian-led attempt to antagonize and influence Americans online, which is still ongoing."<ref>{{cite web |last=Naylor |first=Aliide |title=Pro-Putin Disinformation Warriors Take War of Aggression to Reddit |website=CEPA |date=12 December 2023 |url=https://cepa.org/article/pro-putin-disinformation-warriors-take-war-of-aggression-to-reddit/ |access-date=February 6, 2024 |archive-date=December 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231230142425/https://cepa.org/article/pro-putin-disinformation-warriors-take-war-of-aggression-to-reddit/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Drug use== Some subreddits are dedicated to discussing unapproved or illegal drugs, including meth,<ref>{{cite news |title=In a meth underground on Facebook and Zoom, users find drugs and endless parties |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/meth-only-click-away-facebook-zoom-twitter-reddit-n1291506 |access-date=23 September 2023 |work=NBC News |date=11 March 2022 |language=en |archive-date=May 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230521145125/https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/meth-only-click-away-facebook-zoom-twitter-reddit-n1291506 |url-status=live }}</ref> opioids,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bunting |first1=Amanda M. |last2=Krawczyk |first2=Noa |last3=Lippincott |first3=Thomas |last4=Gu |first4=Yuanqi |last5=Arya |first5=Simran |last6=Nagappala |first6=Suhas |last7=Meacham |first7=Meredith C. |title=Trends in Fentanyl Content on Reddit Substance Use Forums, 2013–2021 |journal=Journal of General Internal Medicine |date=9 June 2023 |volume=38 |issue=15 |pages=3283–3287 |doi=10.1007/s11606-023-08256-7 |pmid=37296360 |pmc=10255938 |language=en |issn=1525-1497|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Garg |first1=Sanjana |last2=Taylor |first2=Jordan |last3=El Sherief |first3=Mai |last4=Kasson |first4=Erin |last5=Aledavood |first5=Talayeh |last6=Riordan |first6=Raven |last7=Kaiser |first7=Nina |last8=Cavazos-Rehg |first8=Patricia |last9=De Choudhury |first9=Munmun |author9-link=Munmun De Choudhury|title=Detecting risk level in individuals misusing fentanyl utilizing posts from an online community on Reddit |journal=Internet Interventions |date=1 December 2021 |volume=26 |article-number=100467 |doi=10.1016/j.invent.2021.100467 |pmid=34804810 |pmc=8581502 |issn=2214-7829|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Balsamo |first1=Duilio |last2=Bajardi |first2=Paolo |last3=Salomone |first3=Alberto |last4=Schifanella |first4=Rossano |title=Patterns of Routes of Administration and Drug Tampering for Nonmedical Opioid Consumption: Data Mining and Content Analysis of Reddit Discussions |journal=Journal of Medical Internet Research |date=4 January 2021 |volume=23 |issue=1 |article-number=e21212 |doi=10.2196/21212 |pmid=33393910 |pmc=7813634 |language=EN|doi-access=free }}</ref> novel psychoactive substances,<ref name="Barenholtz">{{cite journal |last1=Barenholtz |first1=Elan |last2=Krotulski |first2=Alex J. |last3=Morris |first3=Paul |last4=Fitzgerald |first4=Nicole D. |last5=Le |first5=Austin |last6=Papsun |first6=Donna M. |last7=Logan |first7=Barry K. |last8=Hahn |first8=William E. |last9=Goldberger |first9=Bruce A. |last10=Cottler |first10=Linda B. |last11=Palamar |first11=Joseph J. |title=Online surveillance of novel psychoactive substances (NPS): Monitoring Reddit discussions as a predictor of increased NPS-related exposures |journal=International Journal of Drug Policy |date=December 2021 |volume=98 |article-number=103393 |doi=10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103393|pmid=34365124 |pmc=8671170 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pestana |first1=Jani |last2=Beccaria |first2=Franca |last3=Petrilli |first3=Enrico |title=Psychedelic substance use in the Reddit psychonaut community. A qualitative study on motives and modalities |journal=Drugs and Alcohol Today |date=1 January 2020 |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=112–123 |doi=10.1108/DAT-03-2020-0016 |issn=1745-9265|doi-access=free |hdl=10281/314241 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> performance-enhancing drugs such as anabolic steroids and SARMs,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Efimenko |first1=Iakov V. |last2=Valancy |first2=David |last3=Dubin |first3=Justin M. |last4=Ramasamy |first4=Ranjith |title=Adverse effects and potential benefits among selective androgen receptor modulators users: a cross-sectional survey |journal=International Journal of Impotence Research |date=December 2022 |volume=34 |issue=8 |pages=757–761 |doi=10.1038/s41443-021-00465-0 |pmid=34471228 |s2cid=237378326 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41443-021-00465-0 |language=en |issn=1476-5489 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=September 1, 2023 |access-date=September 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230901102430/https://www.nature.com/articles/s41443-021-00465-0 |url-status=live }}</ref> and 2,4-Dinitrophenol, a chemical compound used as a pesticide and herbicide and in the manufacture of explosives which has controversially been used as a weight loss drug, despite the FDA having declared it unfit for human use in 1938 due to its causing cataracts and fatal overdoses.<ref name=Abdelati>{{cite journal |last1=Abdelati |first1=Ali |last2=Burns |first2=Michele M. |last3=Chary |first3=Michael |title=Sublethal toxicities of 2,4-dinitrophenol as inferred from online self-reports |journal=PLOS ONE |date=2023 |volume=18 |issue=9 |article-number=e0290630 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0290630 |pmid=37703241 |pmc=10499234 |bibcode=2023PLoSO..1890630A |language=en |issn=1932-6203|doi-access=free }}</ref> However, drugs-related subreddits have also enabled research and could provide information that would be difficult or impossible to obtain otherwise.<ref name="Barenholtz"/><ref name=Abdelati/> Reddit also contains subreddits dedicated to addiction recovery.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Valdez |first1=Danny |last2=Patterson |first2=Megan S. |title=Computational analyses identify addiction help-seeking behaviors on the social networking website Reddit: Insights into online social interactions and addiction support communities |journal=PLOS Digital Health |date=9 November 2022 |volume=1 |issue=11 |article-number=e0000143 |doi=10.1371/journal.pdig.0000143 |pmid=36812569 |pmc=9931264 |language=en |issn=2767-3170|doi-access=free }}</ref>
==Snark subreddits== {{main|Snark subreddits}}
In snark subreddits, members (known as "snarkers") gossip about, express frustration towards, or "snark" on public figures.<ref name="BIvan">{{cite web |last1=Weiss |first1=Geoff |date=May 8, 2023 |title=A van-life influencer has released the real names of Reddit users that made her life a living hell. But her quest for vengeance has made her a target once again. |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/influencer-brianna-madia-revenge-against-reddit-snark-forum-2023-5 |access-date=May 13, 2024 |website=Business Insider |archive-date=May 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509011951/https://www.businessinsider.com/influencer-brianna-madia-revenge-against-reddit-snark-forum-2023-5 |url-status=live }}</ref> Some of these subs specifically target female influencers such as YouTubers and TikTokers.<ref name="WaPo lorenz">{{cite news |last1=Lorenz |first1=Taylor |author-link1=Taylor Lorenz |title=News outlets turn to Reddit as Musk's X descends into chaos |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/12/01/reddit-twitter-snark-ethics/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=May 9, 2024 |date=December 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231201190238/https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/12/01/reddit-twitter-snark-ethics/ |archive-date=1 December 2023}}</ref><ref name="CJR">{{cite web |last1=Merid |first1=Feven |title=The Reddit pages that investigate influencers |url=https://www.cjr.org/analysis/reddit-snark-pages-influencers.php |website=Columbia Journalism Review |access-date=July 30, 2024 |date=March 25, 2024 |archive-date=July 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240719025502/https://www.cjr.org/analysis/reddit-snark-pages-influencers.php |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Time">{{cite magazine |last1=Mendez II |first1=Moises |title=How the New Duggar Family Docuseries Amplifies the World of Online Snark Communities |url=https://time.com/6284907/duggar-shiny-happy-people-snark-subreddits/ |magazine=Time |access-date=May 11, 2024 |date=June 6, 2023 |archive-date=May 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509011950/https://time.com/6284907/duggar-shiny-happy-people-snark-subreddits/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> == <span class="anchor" id="Banned subreddits"></span> Banned subreddits ==
Banned subreddits refer to subreddits that Reddit has shut down indefinitely.
=== Antisemitic subreddits === {{Main|Reddit and antisemitism}}
==== frenworld ==== {{proper name|r/frenworld}}, whose title is derived from the alt-right meme "Clown World", attracted controversy over its use of Pepe the Frog edits and clown imagery to promote racist dog whistles, notably attacking Jews. ''The Times of Israel'' and ''The Daily Dot'' found numerous references in the subreddit to Holocaust denial, the USS ''Liberty'' incident, and alleged racial crime statistics.
A major aspect of the sub was users' use of slang and childish diction, such as "nose-fren" and "longnose" for Jews, "bop" for committing violence or genocide, and "Honk honk" as a euphemism for "Heil Hitler". On June 20, 2019, after it had accumulated around 60,346 subscribers, the sub was banned for glorifying violence. {{proper name|r/Honkler}}, which hosted similar content, was banned on July 2, 2019.<ref name="timeofisrael" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Martinez |first=Ignacio |date=2 July 2019 |title=Alt-right subreddit that used clowns to promote white nationalism has been banned |url=https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/honkler-subreddit-banned/ |access-date=27 March 2022 |work=The Daily Dot |archive-date=August 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220814192258/https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/honkler-subreddit-banned/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Collins |first1=Ben |last2=Zadrozny |first2=Brandy |author-link2=Brandy Zadrozny |date=26 June 2019 |title=Reddit restricts pro-Trump community over violent threats |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/reddit-restricts-pro-trump-community-over-violent-threats-n1022266 |access-date=27 March 2022 |work=NBCNews |quote=The site banned r/frenworld last week, a subreddit for white nationalist, neo-Nazi and alt-right memes. The subreddit had evaded a ban for months by using codewords, like replacing the word "murder" with "bop" in conversations about genocide. |archive-date=March 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220327180919/https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/reddit-restricts-pro-trump-community-over-violent-threats-n1022266 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==== GasTheKikes ==== {{proper name|r/GasTheKikes}} was another antisemitic subreddit, the name of which alluded to the gas chambers used in the Holocaust. ''New York'' magazine described it as a "massive online Jew-hating community" among "the worst of the worst" subreddits.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Stangel |first=Jake |date=October 6, 2015 |title=Can Steve Huffman Save Reddit From Itself? |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2015/10/reddit-founder-steve-huffman.html |access-date=August 13, 2023 |work=New York |archive-date=June 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230628183006/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2015/10/reddit-founder-steve-huffman.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The community was banned from Reddit,<ref name=":1" /> after which a successor subreddit named {{proper name|r/KikeTown}} took its place.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Clifton |first=Derrick |date=August 5, 2015 |title=Killing Reddit's most hateful subreddits won't exterminate its troll problem |url=https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/reddit-bigotry-content-moderation/ |access-date=August 13, 2023 |work=The Daily Dot |archive-date=August 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813081913/https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/reddit-bigotry-content-moderation/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2015, {{proper name|r/KikeTown}} was first quarantined, then banned.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sankin |first=Aaron |date=August 5, 2015 |title=Reddit bans racist communities as site updates content policy |url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/reddit-bans-coontown-content-policy/ |access-date=August 13, 2023 |work=The Daily Dot |archive-date=August 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813081914/https://www.dailydot.com/debug/reddit-bans-coontown-content-policy/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Kulwin |first=Noah |date=August 5, 2015 |title=Can't Have It Both Ways: The Trouble With Reddit's Content Policy Update |url=https://www.vox.com/2015/8/5/11615378/cant-have-it-both-ways-the-trouble-with-reddits-content-policy-update |access-date=August 13, 2023 |work=Vox |archive-date=August 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813081913/https://www.vox.com/2015/8/5/11615378/cant-have-it-both-ways-the-trouble-with-reddits-content-policy-update |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lawson |first=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5VKjEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA94 |title=Language and Mediated Masculinities: Cultures, Contexts, Constraints |date=2023 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-008104-1 |page=94 |language=en |quote=His findings showed that /r/The_Donald was more similar to /r/kiketown, /r/fatpeoplehate, r/TheRedPill, and /r/coontown, all controversial subreddits which promoted misogyny, racism, and hate speech (and all of which, bar /r/TheRedPill, have since been banned).}}</ref> Internet troll Joshua Ryne Goldberg, a Jewish man who created troll accounts for various ideologies including Neo-Nazism, founded and moderated r/GasTheKikes along with other Neo-Nazi and white supremacist subreddits.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=September 23, 2015 |title=Djihadiste, néonazi, activiste : Joshua Goldberg, un «troll» de 20 ans aux identités multiples |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/big-browser/article/2015/09/23/djihadiste-neonazi-activiste-joshua-goldberg-un-troll-de-20-ans-aux-identites-multiples_5991491_4832693.html |trans-title=Jihadist, neonazi, activist: Joshua Goldberg, a 20-year-old "troll" with multiple identities |language=fr |work=Le Monde |access-date=March 6, 2026 |quote="On sait aujourd'hui qu'il a commencé à se faire remarquer sur les forums Reddit et 4Chan, sous l'alias European88, avec de nombreux post antisémites et racistes." |trans-quote="It is now known that he first gained attention on the forums Reddit and 4chan, under the alias European88, with numerous anti-Semitic and racist posts."}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Wendling |first=Mike |date=September 21, 2015 |title=Joshua Goldberg: Neo-Nazi, radical feminist and violent jihadist - all at once |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-34292809 |work=BBC News |access-date=March 6, 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Goldberg |first=Joshua |author-link=Joshua Ryne Goldberg |date=April 16, 2022 |title=I Am Michael Slay: The Incredibly Strange, Incredibly True Story of How Someone With the Last Name Goldberg Became a Writer on the Most Popular Neo-Nazi Website |url=https://medium.com/@MoonMetropolis/i-am-michael-slay-the-incredibly-strange-incredibly-true-story-of-how-someone-with-the-last-name-e310d37c47d3 |website=Medium |access-date=March 6, 2026 |quote="European88 was a moderator of virtually every single white supremacist subreddit that existed (in fact, over 200 of them), and European88 had even founded many of the most popular white supremacist subreddits (most notably /r/GasTheKikes, which then-Reddit CEO Ellen Pao was asked about by name in an interview where she awkwardly tried to shrug off the site’s considerable neo-Nazi presence)."}}</ref>
=== Beatingwomen ===
On June 9, 2014, Reddit closed a subreddit called {{proper name|r/beatingwomen}}. The community, which featured graphic depictions of violence against women, was banned after its moderators were found to be sharing users' personal information online. These moderators were also collaborating to protect one another from site-wide bans. After r/beatingwomen was banned, the community's founder rebooted the subreddit under the name {{proper name|r/beatingwomen2}} in an attempt to circumvent the ban; in response, Reddit banned his user account.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Alfonso |first1=Fernando |title=Reddit bans infamous forum about beating women |url=http://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-beating-women-banned/ |website=The Daily Dot |access-date=June 10, 2014 |date=June 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140621004602/http://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-beating-women-banned/ |archive-date=June 21, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Ongley |first1=Hannah |title=Gross Reddit Forum Glorifying Beaten Women Finally Gets Shut Down |url=http://www.styleite.com/news/gross-reddit-forum-glorifying-beaten-women-finally-gets-shut-down/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611021740/http://www.styleite.com/news/gross-reddit-forum-glorifying-beaten-women-finally-gets-shut-down/ |archive-date=June 11, 2014 |access-date=June 10, 2014 |website=Styleite |publisher=Styleite LLC}}</ref>
=== ChapoTrapHouse ===
{{proper name|r/ChapoTrapHouse}} was a subreddit dedicated to the leftist podcast ''Chapo Trap House''. It is associated with the "dirtbag left" style of left-wing politics.<ref name="Isaac 2020">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/29/technology/reddit-hate-speech.html |title=Reddit, Acting Against Hate Speech, Bans 'The_Donald' Subreddit |last=Isaac |first=Mike |date=June 29, 2020 |work=The New York Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629194704/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/29/technology/reddit-hate-speech.html |archive-date=June 29, 2020 |url-status=live |url-access=limited}}</ref><ref name="DailyDot_Chapo">{{cite web |url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/chapo-trap-house-subreddit-quarantine/ |title=Chapo Trap House subreddit quarantined for allegedly encouraging violence |last=Martinez |first=Ignacio |date=August 7, 2019 |publisher=Daily Dot |access-date=June 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630012317/https://www.dailydot.com/debug/chapo-trap-house-subreddit-quarantine/ |archive-date=June 30, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> The community had 160,000 regulars before being banned on June 29, 2020 because they "consistently host[ed] rule-breaking content and their mods ... demonstrated no intention of reining in their community."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/juliareinstein/reddit-bans-subreddits-thedonald-chapotraphouse |title=Reddit Banned A Ton Of Subreddits Including r/The_Donald And r/ChapoTrapHouset |last=Reinstein |first=Julia |date=June 29, 2020 |publisher=Buzzfeed News |access-date=June 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629212134/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/juliareinstein/reddit-bans-subreddits-thedonald-chapotraphouse |archive-date=June 29, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> Previously, the community had been quarantined for content that promoted violence.<ref name="DailyDot_Chapo"/> The subreddit's userbase later migrated to an instance of Lemmy, a Reddit alternative.<ref name="Tiffany">{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/12/reddit-ovarit-the-donald/617320/ |title=The Secret Internet of TERFs |last=Tiffany |first=Kaitlyn |date=December 8, 2020 |website=The Atlantic |access-date=December 9, 2020 |archive-date=April 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230428050258/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/12/reddit-ovarit-the-donald/617320/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== The "Chimpire" ===
The term "Chimpire" refers to a collection of subreddits and affiliated websites that promoted anti-black racism and frequently used racial slurs.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-04-13 |title=The Secret Rules of the Internet |url=https://www.typeinvestigations.org/investigation/2016/04/13/secret-rules-internet/ |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=Type Investigations |language=en-US |archive-date=June 24, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250624010604/https://www.typeinvestigations.org/investigation/2016/04/13/secret-rules-internet/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
In June 2013, Reddit banned the subreddit {{proper name|r/niggers}} for engaging in vote manipulation, inciting violence, and disrupting other communities by posting racist content. Reddit general manager Erik Martin noted that the sub was given multiple chances to comply with site rules: "users can tell from the amount of warnings we extended to a subreddit as clearly awful as r/niggers that we go into the decision to ban subreddits with a lot of scrutiny".<ref>{{cite news |last=Todd |first=Bridget |date=July 16, 2013 |title=Does Anything Go? The Rise and Fall of a Racist Corner of Reddit |work=The Atlantic |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/07/does-anything-go-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-racist-corner-of-reddit/277585/ |url-status=live |access-date=March 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423154121/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/07/does-anything-go-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-racist-corner-of-reddit/277585/ |archive-date=April 23, 2017}}</ref>
Following the ban of {{proper name|r/niggers}}, the subreddit {{proper name|r/Coontown}} grew to become the most popular "Chimpire" site, with over 15,000 members at its peak.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wall |first1=Brandon |title=Racist Reddit Group Embraces Alleged Charleston Shooting Manifesto |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/brandonwall/racist-reddit-group-embraces-alleged-charleston-shooting-man |website=Buzzfeed |date=June 21, 2015 |access-date=July 20, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703042242/http://www.buzzfeed.com/brandonwall/racist-reddit-group-embraces-alleged-charleston-shooting-man#.xsXbWnAMq |archive-date=July 3, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> Many of the posters on these subreddits were formerly involved with {{proper name|r/niggers}}.<ref name="Hankes 2015">{{cite web |last=Hankes |first=Keegan |date=10 March 2015 |url=http://gawker.com/how-reddit-became-a-worse-black-hole-of-violent-racism-1690505395 |title=How Reddit Became a Worse Black Hole of Violent Racism than Stormfront |work=Gawker |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150612171505/http://gawker.com/how-reddit-became-a-worse-black-hole-of-violent-racism-1690505395 |archive-date=June 12, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Kaplan 2015">{{cite news |last=Kaplan |first=Sarah |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/03/11/the-state-of-hate-in-america-a-new-home-on-the-internet/ |title=The state of hate in America: A new home on the Internet |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=March 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730000023/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/03/11/the-state-of-hate-in-america-a-new-home-on-the-internet/ |archive-date=July 30, 2017 |url-status=live |url-access=limited}}</ref><ref name="chimpire3">{{cite web |last=Cush |first=Andy |url=http://gawker.com/reddits-ferguson-board-is-run-by-white-supremacists-1624585570 |title=Reddit's Ferguson Board Is Run by White Supremacists |publisher=Gawker |date=August 20, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613230559/http://gawker.com/reddits-ferguson-board-is-run-by-white-supremacists-1624585570 |archive-date=June 13, 2015}}</ref>
=== Chodi ===
{{proper name|r/Chodi}}, the name of which is derived from a crude Hindi sexual slang term, was a right-wing Indian subreddit that claimed to be a "free speech sub for memes, jokes, satire, sarcasm and fun". By January 2022, the sub had over 90,000 subscribers, who openly called for genocide against Muslims and frequently propagated Islamophobic, anti-Christian, homophobic, and misogynistic content. According to a ''Time'' article, subscribers used intentional misspellings and slang to circumvent Reddit's anti-hate speech software.<ref name=time2022>{{cite news |last1=Chow |first1=Andrew R. |url=https://time.com/6121915/reddit-international-hate-speech/ |url-status=live |access-date=January 20, 2022 |title=Reddit Allows Hate Speech to Flourish in Its Global Forums, Moderators Say |date=January 10, 2022 |newspaper=Time |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120080200/https://time.com/6121915/reddit-international-hate-speech/ |archive-date=January 20, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Sharma |first1=Anushka |title=Right Online: Hateful, extremist content on Reddit, Discord pose worrying trend for young adults in India|access-date=March 4, 2022 |url=https://www.news9live.com/state/uttar-pradesh/right-online-hateful-extremist-content-on-reddit-discord-pose-worrying-trend-for-young-adults-in-india-146625 |date=January 13, 2022 |website=News 9}}</ref> ''The Quint'' cited r/Chodi's popularity as an example when noting that Reddit is used as a haven for hate speech in India.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Saraswat |first1=Raunaq |title=Out of Sight: How Reddit Became a 'Safe Space' for Hate in India |access-date=March 4, 2022 |url=https://www.thequint.com/neon/web-culture/out-of-sight-how-reddit-became-a-safe-space-for-hate#read-more |date=January 25, 2022 |website=The Quint |archive-date=March 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304215857/https://www.thequint.com/neon/web-culture/out-of-sight-how-reddit-became-a-safe-space-for-hate#read-more |url-status=live }}</ref> The sub was banned on March 23, 2022 for promoting hate, causing its users to move to Telegram.<ref name="time20220304">{{Cite magazine |title=Reddit Moves to Control Hate Speech and Misinformation in Two Forums |url=https://time.com/6160519/reddit-international-hate-speech-ban/ |date=2022-03-24 |first1=Andrew |last1=Chow |access-date=2022-03-25 |magazine=Time |language=en |archive-date=April 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220419134031/https://time.com/6160519/reddit-international-hate-speech-ban/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
=== ChongLangTV === {{Further|Great Translation Movement}} {{proper name|r/ChongLangTV}} was a Chinese-language subreddit that originated from Kanagawa Chonglang Hub on Baidu Tieba, which was known for its frequent use of racial slurs and extreme anti-China views.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Chen |first=Caiwei |date=2023-06-21 |title=China's banned online communities have found a new home on Reddit |url=https://restofworld.org/2023/reddit-china-online-communities/ |access-date=2026-01-14 |website=Rest of World |language=en-US |archive-date=January 6, 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260106032523/https://restofworld.org/2023/reddit-china-online-communities/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On March 2, 2022, when it had over 53,000 subscribers, Reddit administrators banned the sub for doxing a user who claimed to be a bank employee in Shanghai who blocked donations to Ukraine.<ref name=":7" /> One subscriber told Radio Free Asia that the Reddit ban was due to Chinese long-arm censorship.<ref name=":7">{{Cite news |date=2022-03-04 |title=聲援烏克蘭Reddit中文社區 「衝浪TV」遭封殺 疑涉中共長臂審查 |trans-title=In solidarity with the Ukrainian Reddit Chinese community, "Chonglang TV" was blocked, suspected of being involved in the CCP's long-arm censorship |url=https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/reddit-03042022114155.html |website=Radio Free Asia |access-date=2023-02-07 |archive-date=2022-05-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511005647/https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/reddit-03042022114155.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The community's founder rebooted the subreddit under the name {{proper name|r/CLTV}} in an attempt to circumvent the ban,<ref name=":8" /> but Reddit banned his user account in response.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}
=== CreepShots ===
A year after {{proper name|r/jailbait}} was closed, another subreddit called {{proper name|r/CreepShots}} drew controversy in the press for hosting sexualized images of women taken without their knowledge.<ref name="Fox Atlanta">{{cite news |last=Gray |first=Justin |title=Teacher allegedly posts pictures of students on 'CreepShot' website |url=http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/19650823/teacher-allegedly-posts-pictures-of-students-on-site |access-date=May 3, 2013 |newspaper=Fox Atlanta |date=September 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601231618/http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/19650823/teacher-allegedly-posts-pictures-of-students-on-site |archive-date=June 1, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> In the wake of this media attention, the user u/violentacrez was added to {{proper name|r/CreepShots}} as a moderator.<ref name=Stattit>{{cite web |title=/r/Creepshots – Moderation History |url=http://stattit.com/r/creepshots/ |website=Stattit.com |quote=-09-27 – Promoted violentacrez |access-date=May 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906120337/http://stattit.com/r/CreepShots/ |archive-date=September 6, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> This user moderated dozens of controversial subreddits as well as a few hundred general-interest communities.
In late 2012, reports emerged that Adrian Chen of ''Gawker'' was planning an exposé which would reveal u/violentacrez's real-life identity. In response to the impending article, the account u/violentacrez was deleted and several major subreddits banned links to ''Gawker''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Alfonso III |first=Fernando |title=Redditors declare war on Gawker Media |url=http://www.dailydot.com/news/gawker-reddit-banned-adrian-chen-violentacrez/ |access-date=October 28, 2012 |newspaper=The Daily Dot |date=October 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025074726/http://www.dailydot.com/news/gawker-reddit-banned-adrian-chen-violentacrez/ |archive-date=October 25, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Roy |first=Jessica |title=Reddit Readies for Brewing 'Inter-Website War'; Major Subreddits Ban Links to Gawker Media |url=http://betabeat.com/2012/10/reddit-readies-for-brewing-inter-website-war-bans-links-to-gawker-media/ |access-date=October 28, 2012 |newspaper=BetaBeat |date=October 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015195612/http://betabeat.com/2012/10/reddit-readies-for-brewing-inter-website-war-bans-links-to-gawker-media/ |archive-date=October 15, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Morris">{{cite news |last=Morris |first=Kevin |title=Clearing up rumors and hearsay as the Internet eagerly awaits the Gawker Reddit story |url=http://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-adrian-chen-violentacrez-gawker-rumors/ |access-date=October 28, 2012 |newspaper=The Daily Dot |date=October 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116171759/http://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-adrian-chen-violentacrez-gawker-rumors/ |archive-date=November 16, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> Moderators defended this decision, arguing that the impending article would constitute "doxxing", and that such exposure threatened the site's structural integrity.<ref name="Morris" />
When Chen informed u/violentacrez about the impending exposé, the user pleaded with Chen not to publish it. He expressed concern about its potential impact on his employment and finances, noting that his wife was disabled and that he had a mortgage to pay. He also worried that he would be falsely labeled a child pornographer or antisemite due to some of the subreddits he had created. Despite u/violentacrez's offer to delete his postings and leave Reddit, Chen insisted he would still publish the piece.<ref name="Gawkerexpose" /><ref name="DailyBeast">{{cite news |last=Klein |first=Alex |title=Why Gawker Should Lose Its War With Reddit |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/18/why-gawker-should-lose-its-war-with-reddit.html |access-date=October 29, 2012 |newspaper=The Daily Beast |date=October 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030132547/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/18/why-gawker-should-lose-its-war-with-reddit.html |archive-date=October 30, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
==== Gawker exposé ====
Chen published his exposé on October 12, 2012, revealing that u/violentacrez was a middle-aged programmer from Arlington, Texas named Michael Brutsch.<ref name=Gawkerexpose /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/15/michael-brutsch-reddits-biggest-loses-job-identity-gawker_n_1967727.html |work=Huffington Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801220917/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/15/michael-brutsch-reddits-biggest-loses-job-identity-gawker_n_1967727.html |archive-date=August 1, 2018 |access-date=April 21, 2018 |title=Reddit's Biggest Troll Loses Job After Identity is Exposed by Gawker |date=October 15, 2012 }}</ref> By the next day, Brutsch had been fired by his employer, and Reddit briefly banned the link to the exposé.<ref>{{cite news |last=Alfonso III |first=Fernando |title=Reddit's most notorious troll loses job after Gawker profile |url=http://www.dailydot.com/news/violentacrez-reddit-troll-fired-gawker-profile/ |access-date=October 29, 2012 |newspaper=The Daily Dot |date=October 15, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024172141/http://www.dailydot.com/news/violentacrez-reddit-troll-fired-gawker-profile/ |archive-date=October 24, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Violentacrez Fired: Michael Brutsch Loses Job After Reddit Troll Identity Exposed By Gawker |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/15/michael-brutsch-reddits-biggest-loses-job-identity-gawker_n_1967727.html |access-date=October 29, 2012 |newspaper=The Huffington Post |date=October 15, 2012 |first=Stephanie |last=Marcus |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025105400/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/15/michael-brutsch-reddits-biggest-loses-job-identity-gawker_n_1967727.html |archive-date=October 25, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> Brutsch wrote on Reddit that he received numerous death threats after the article was published.<ref>{{cite news |last=Levy |first=Megan |title=Internet troll sacked from job after identity revealed |url=https://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/internet-troll-sacked-from-job-after-identity-revealed-20121016-27o6k.html |access-date=October 29, 2012 |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=October 16, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018211150/http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/internet-troll-sacked-from-job-after-identity-revealed-20121016-27o6k.html |archive-date=October 18, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Reddit CEO Yishan Wong defended the content Brutsch contributed to the site, arguing that it constituted free speech, while criticizing efforts to ban the ''Gawker'' link on the same basis.<ref>{{cite news |title=Reddit CEO defends free speech – even for creeps like Violentacrez |url=https://www.foxnews.com/tech/reddit-ceo-defends-free-speech-even-for-creeps-like-violentacrez/ |access-date=October 30, 2012 |newspaper=Fox News |date=October 17, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022203958/http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2012/10/17/reddit-ceo-defends-free-speech-and-creepy-user-violentacrez/ |archive-date=October 22, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> Wong stated that Reddit staff had considered a site-wide ban on the link, but rejected the idea for fear that it would be ineffective while also creating a negative impression of the site.<ref name=PCMag>{{cite news |last=Albanesius |first=Chloe |title=Reddit CEO Defends Free Speech, Talks Violentacrez Scandal |url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2411077,00.asp |access-date=October 30, 2012 |work=PC Magazine |date=October 17, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021093252/http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2411077,00.asp |archive-date=October 21, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> Later, Brutsch briefly returned to Reddit on a different account, criticizing what he stated were numerous factual inaccuracies in the ''Gawker'' exposé.<ref>{{cite news |last=Roy |first=Jessica |title=Violentacrez Takes to Reddit to Solicit Sympathy, PayPal Donations |url=http://betabeat.com/2012/10/violentacrez-takes-to-reddit-to-solicit-sympathy-paypal-donations/ |access-date=October 30, 2012 |newspaper=BeatBeat |date=October 15, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121221212134/http://betabeat.com/2012/10/violentacrez-takes-to-reddit-to-solicit-sympathy-paypal-donations/ |archive-date=December 21, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
A week after the exposé, Brutsch did an interview with CNN journalist Drew Griffin. In the interview, which aired on ''Anderson Cooper 360°'', Brutsch was apologetic about his activity on Reddit. He explained that he enjoyed the appreciation he got from other Redditors, and that Reddit helped him relieve stress. Brutsch also described the support he had from administrators, stating that he had received an award for his contributions. Reddit responded that they regretted sending this award (for being named "Worst Subreddit" via a community vote); they also claimed that u/violentacrez had been banned on several occasions.<ref>{{cite news |last=Alfonso III |first=Fernando |title=Infamous Reddit troll Violentacrez apologizes on CNN |url=http://www.dailydot.com/news/violentacrez-cnn-interview/ |access-date=October 30, 2012 |newspaper=The Daily Dot |date=October 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224112211/http://www.dailydot.com/news/violentacrez-cnn-interview/ |archive-date=December 24, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Fitzpatrick |first=David |title=Man behind 'Jailbait' posts exposed, loses job |url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/18/us/internet-troll-apology/index.html |access-date=October 30, 2012 |date=October 19, 2012 |newspaper=CNN |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028141611/http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/18/us/internet-troll-apology/index.html |archive-date=October 28, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> Brutsch subsequently noted on Reddit that he regretted doing the interview, and he criticized the accuracy of Reddit's statement to CNN.<ref name=BeatBeat>{{cite news |last=Roy |first=Jessica |title=Violentacrez Admits Doing CNN Interview Was a 'Huge Mistake' |url=http://betabeat.com/2012/10/violentacrez-admits-doing-cnn-interview-was-a-huge-mistake/ |access-date=October 30, 2012 |newspaper=BetaBeat |date=October 19, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130211035140/http://betabeat.com/2012/10/violentacrez-admits-doing-cnn-interview-was-a-huge-mistake/ |archive-date=February 11, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Chris Slowe, who was a lead Reddit programmer until 2010, said of the relationship between Brutsch and the Reddit staff: "We just stayed out of there and let him do his thing and we knew at least he was getting rid of a lot of stuff that wasn't particularly legal."<ref name=Gawkerexpose />
==== Ethics of doxing ==== {{See also|Doxing|Internet privacy}}
''Gawker's'' outing of Brutsch as u/violentacrez led to contentious discussion about privacy and anonymity on the internet.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hill |first=Kashmir |title=Why The Internet Cool Kids Think Gawker Outing Reddit's Violentacrez Is The 'Best Story About The Web' This Year |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/10/15/why-the-internet-cool-kids-think-gawker-outing-reddits-violentacrez-is-the-best-story-about-the-web-this-year/ |access-date=October 31, 2012 |newspaper=Forbes |date=October 15, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102130649/http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/10/15/why-the-internet-cool-kids-think-gawker-outing-reddits-violentacrez-is-the-best-story-about-the-web-this-year/ |archive-date=November 2, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> Some argued that outing, or "doxing", was necessary to draw attention to objectionable content so it could be removed. Others claimed that fear of doxing and public retribution impeded people from exercising their right to legal free speech online.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ngak |first=Chenda |title=Reddit, Gawker clash raises questions over inappropriate content and privacy |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/reddit-gawker-clash-raises-questions-over-inappropriate-content-and-privacy/ |access-date=October 31, 2012 |newspaper=CBS News |date=October 17, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107003811/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57534542/reddit-gawker-clash-raises-questions-over-inappropriate-content-and-privacy/ |archive-date=November 7, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=NoTears>{{cite news |last=Poeter |first=Damon |title=Shed No Tears for Violentacrez |url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2411001,00.asp |access-date=October 31, 2012 |newspaper=PC Magazine |date=October 15, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018210146/http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2411001,00.asp |archive-date=October 18, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Writing for ''The Guardian'', Jude Doyle argued that certain doxings may be justified, comparing ''Gawker's'' article to the outing of Amanda Todd's alleged blackmailer. On the other hand, he argued that by engaging in "sensationalism" at the expense of cultural reform, doxing may unduly focus attention on individuals without confronting the underlying problems.<ref>{{cite news |last=Doyle |first=Jude (writing as Sady) |title=Outing online sexual predators is a sensationalist stopgap |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/oct/17/outing-online-sexual-predators-gawker-anonymous |access-date=October 31, 2012 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=October 17, 2012 |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031140544/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/oct/17/outing-online-sexual-predators-gawker-anonymous |archive-date=October 31, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> In ''PC Magazine'', Damon Poeter stated that while he had defended protecting anonymity on the Internet, he supported Brutsch being outed and felt the doxing was justifiable, as he thought the various subreddits that u/violentacrez contributed to were serious invasions of privacy regardless of legality.<ref name=NoTears />
The public outpouring of hostility towards Brutsch following the exposé prompted commentators such as danah boyd of ''Wired'' and Michelle Star of ''CNET'' to question the morality of outing as a way to enforce societal standards online.<ref name=Wired>{{cite news |last=Boyd |first=Danah |title=Truth, Lies, and 'Doxing': The Real Moral of the Gawker/Reddit Story |url=https://www.wired.com/opinion/2012/10/truth-lies-doxxing-internet-vigilanteism/ |access-date=November 1, 2012 |newspaper=Wired |date=October 29, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101000950/http://www.wired.com/opinion/2012/10/truth-lies-doxxing-internet-vigilanteism |archive-date=November 1, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=CNET>{{cite news |last=Starr |first=Michelle |title=Gawker, Reddit's Violentacrez and the internet vigilantes |url=http://www.cnet.com.au/gawker-reddits-violentacrez-and-the-internet-vigilantes-339342046.htm |access-date=November 1, 2012 |newspaper=CNET |date=October 17, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019183018/http://www.cnet.com.au/gawker-reddits-violentacrez-and-the-internet-vigilantes-339342046.htm |archive-date=October 19, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> Several commentators expressed concern that the public shaming of Brutsch to serve as an example to others legitimizes Internet vigilantism and exposes individuals such as Brutsch to mass retribution.<ref name=Wired /><ref name=CNET /><ref>{{cite news |last=Eördögh |first=Fruzsina |title=What's Behind The Public Shaming of Reddit's King Troll Violentacrez? |url=http://readwrite.com/2012/10/29/violentacrez-michael-brutsch-reddit-troll-public-shaming |access-date=November 1, 2012 |newspaper=ReadWriteWeb |date=October 29, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101005918/http://readwrite.com/2012/10/29/violentacrez-michael-brutsch-reddit-troll-public-shaming |archive-date=November 1, 2012 |url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Bazelon |first=Emily |title=Sympathy for Violentacrez |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2012/10/16/gawker_was_right_to_out_reddit_s_violentacrez_i_still_feel_sorry_for_him.html |access-date=November 1, 2012 |newspaper=Slate |date=October 16, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101035543/http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2012/10/16/gawker_was_right_to_out_reddit_s_violentacrez_i_still_feel_sorry_for_him.html |archive-date=November 1, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
=== CringeAnarchy === {{See also|Cringe culture}} {{proper name|r/CringeAnarchy}} was a subreddit themed around "cringe", "edgy", politically incorrect content. Originally an uncensored (hence "anarchy") spinoff of {{proper name|r/cringe}},<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NFk_DQAAQBAJ&q=CringeAnarchy |title=Cringeworthy: How to Make the Most of Uncomfortable Situations |first=Melissa |last=Dahl |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-593-07746-7 |publisher=Transworld |via=Google Books}}</ref> its content later shifted to the far right, with transphobic and "anti-SJW" content taking prominence.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ozy.com/rising-stars/hold-the-hate-how-shes-turning-reddit-into-an-ad-haven/92225 |title=Can She Make Brands Say Yes to Reddit? |first=Molly |last=Fosco |website=OZY |date=February 3, 2019 |access-date=June 27, 2019 |archive-date=July 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728093542/https://www.ozy.com/the-new-and-the-next/can-she-make-brands-say-yes-to-reddit/92225/ }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://qz.com/1092037/the-alt-right-is-creating-its-own-dialect-heres-a-complete-guide/ |title=The alt-right is creating its own dialect. Here's the dictionary |first1=Nikhil |last1=Sonnad |first2=Tim |last2=Squirrell |website=Quartz |date=October 30, 2017 |access-date=March 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180307194831/https://qz.com/1092037/the-alt-right-is-creating-its-own-dialect-heres-a-complete-guide/ |archive-date=March 7, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="vice-subs">{{cite web |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/here-are-reddits-whiniest-most-low-key-toxic-subreddits/ |title=Here Are Reddit's Whiniest, Most Low-Key Toxic Subreddits |first1=Justin |last1=Caffier |first2=Jamie Lee Curtis |last2=Taete |first3=Tyler |last3=Trykowski |website=Vice |date=September 11, 2017 |access-date=June 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190620010225/https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/8xxymb/here-are-reddits-whiniest-most-low-key-toxic-subreddits |archive-date=June 20, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> The subreddit was quarantined in September of 2018, at which point it had over 400,000 subscribers.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.newsweek.com/reddit-quarantine-subs-toxic-controversial-moderators-1144663 |title=Reddit has placed more than 20 controversial subs in quarantine |first=Steven |last=Asarch |date=September 28, 2018 |website=Newsweek |access-date=June 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627212330/https://www.newsweek.com/reddit-quarantine-subs-toxic-controversial-moderators-1144663 |archive-date=June 27, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="timeofisrael">{{cite web |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/after-9-months-reddit-finally-bans-group-spreading-thinly-veiled-anti-semitism/ |title=After 9 months, Reddit finally bans group spreading thinly veiled anti-Semitism |first=Billy |last=Johnson |website=The Times of Israel |date=June 24, 2019 |access-date=June 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627043939/https://www.timesofisrael.com/after-9-months-reddit-finally-bans-group-spreading-thinly-veiled-anti-semitism/ |archive-date=June 27, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="MJNZ"/>
Following the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings, anti-Muslim posts on r/CringeAnarchy increased.<ref name="MJNZ">{{cite web |last1=Breland |first1=Ali |title=Anti-Muslim hate has been rampant on Reddit since the New Zealand shooting |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/03/reddit-new-zealand-shooting-islamophobia/ |website=Mother Jones |access-date=April 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420135756/https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/03/reddit-new-zealand-shooting-islamophobia/ |archive-date=April 20, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> The sub was banned on April 25, 2019, for violating Reddit's content policy regarding violent content.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tiffany |first=Kaitlyn |title=How Did We Get So 'Cringe'? |access-date=5 March 2022 |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/01/cringe-culture-everywhere/621272/ |date=15 January 2022 |website=The Atlantic |quote=Banned users made a spin-off forum called r/CringeAnarchy, which later became a far-right cesspool and then was kicked off Reddit for encouraging violence. |archive-date=March 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305175334/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/01/cringe-culture-everywhere/621272/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== DarkNetMarkets ===
In 2015, federal agents from the Baltimore Department of Homeland Security requested Reddit employees to turn over the personal information of several users active in {{proper name|r/DarkNetMarkets}}, a darknet market discussion forum.<ref name="yahoo">{{cite news |last1=Swearingen |first1=Jake |title=A Year After Death of Silk Road, Darknet Markets Are Booming |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/death-silk-road-darknet-markets-142500702.html |access-date=May 24, 2015 |date=October 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525021911/https://finance.yahoo.com/news/death-silk-road-darknet-markets-142500702.html |archive-date=May 25, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite news |last1=Knibbs |first1=Kate |title=Feds Want Reddit to Give Up Personal Info of Darknet Market Redditors |url=https://gizmodo.com/feds-want-reddit-to-give-up-personal-info-of-darknet-ma-1694608548 |access-date=May 19, 2015 |date=March 30, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525014921/http://gizmodo.com/feds-want-reddit-to-give-up-personal-info-of-darknet-ma-1694608548 |archive-date=May 25, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> The federal investigation's focus was illegal sales of drugs, weapons, and stolen financial details.<ref name=":2" />
This subreddit was banned on March 21, 2018.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/reddit-bans-illegal-communities/ |title=Reddit bans its DarkNetMarkets subreddit |first=Eric |last=Brackett |date=March 25, 2018 |publisher=Digital Trends |access-date=April 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404134622/https://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/reddit-bans-illegal-communities/ |archive-date=April 4, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/DarkNetMarketsNoobs/comments/865hj0/several_subs_banned_megathread/dw2ram2/ |publisher=reddit |title=gwern comments on Several subs banned – Megathread |archive-url=https://archive.today/20180322113426/https://www.reddit.com/r/DarkNetMarketsNoobs/comments/865hj0/several_subs_banned_megathread/dw2ram2/ |archive-date=March 22, 2018 |first=Gwern |last=Branwen}}</ref>
=== Deepfakes === {{see also|Deepfake}}
r/Deepfakes was a controversial subreddit where subscribers used FakeApp to superimpose the faces of famous actresses onto pornographic videos without their consent.<ref name=FakeApp>{{cite news |last1=Cole |first1=Samantha |title=We Are Truly Fucked: Everyone Is Making AI-Generated Fake Porn Now |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/reddit-fake-porn-app-daisy-ridley/ |access-date=February 8, 2018 |work=Motherboard |date=January 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180207235708/https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/bjye8a/reddit-fake-porn-app-daisy-ridley |archive-date=February 7, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> These actresses included Emma Watson and Daisy Ridley.<ref name=FakeApp/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Romano |first1=Aja |title=Why Reddit's face-swapping celebrity porn craze is a harbinger of dystopia |url=https://www.vox.com/2018/1/31/16932264/reddit-celebrity-porn-face-swapping-dystopia |access-date=February 8, 2018 |work=Vox |date=January 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180208162234/https://www.vox.com/2018/1/31/16932264/reddit-celebrity-porn-face-swapping-dystopia |archive-date=February 8, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> After the subreddit received notoriety from the press, Gfycat and Discord banned its videos. Pornhub followed suit on February 6, 2018, and a day later the subreddit was banned.<ref name="Hawkins 2018">{{cite news |last1=Hawkins |first1=Derek |title=Reddit bans 'deepfakes,' pornography using the faces of celebrities like Taylor Swift and Gal Gadot |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/02/08/reddit-bans-deepfakes-pornography-using-the-faces-of-celebrities-like-taylor-swift-and-gal-gadot/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180208121421/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/02/08/reddit-bans-deepfakes-pornography-using-the-faces-of-celebrities-like-taylor-swift-and-gal-gadot/ |archive-date=February 8, 2018 |url-status=live |url-access=limited}}</ref>
===European===
{{proper name|r/European}} was a far-right white nationalist subreddit focused on news relating to Europe. It was founded in 2013 after {{proper name|r/europe}} banned hate speech. Its users often promoted antisemitic, Islamophobic, and racist content, and an informal survey showed that 17% of the sub's users openly identified as Nazis.<ref name="vice-subs"/><ref name="fivethreeeight">{{cite web|last=Martin |first=Trevor |title=Dissecting Trump's Most Rabid Online Following |website=FiveThirtyEight |url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/dissecting-trumps-most-rabid-online-following/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824195602/https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/dissecting-trumps-most-rabid-online-following/ |archive-date=August 24, 2022|date=March 23, 2017 |access-date=September 4, 2022|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="vox-european">{{cite web|last=Romano |first=Aja |title=Reddit's biggest Trump community is fracturing over right-wing extremism |url=https://www.vox.com/2016/5/21/11701482/donald-trump-subreddit-drama-europeans |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920062137/https://www.vox.com/2016/5/21/11701482/donald-trump-subreddit-drama-europeans |website=Vox |archive-date=September 20, 2021 |date=May 21, 2016 |access-date= September 4, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref> The sub was set to private by its moderators, and in 2016 it was quarantined by the sitewide administrative staff in response to a post where a user bragged about assaulting a Muslim refugee. The users subsequently migrated to r/The_Donald, and then to {{proper name|r/Mr_Trump}} following a dispute with r/The_Donald's moderators.<ref name="vox-european"/> Reddit banned {{proper name|r/European}} on March 12, 2018, for violating its content policies.<ref name="albawaba">{{cite web|title=Reddit Bans Racist and Islamophobic Subreddits |website=Al Bawaba |url=https://www.albawaba.com/loop/reddit-bans-racist-and-islamophobic-subreddits-1101936 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191004165458/https://www.albawaba.com/loop/reddit-bans-racist-and-islamophobic-subreddits-1101936 |archive-date=October 4, 2019 |date=March 13, 2018 |access-date= September 4, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>
=== Efilism === r/Efilism was a subreddit centered around the philosophy of '''EFILism''' (life spelled backwards), a radical extension of antinatalism that views all life as inherently harmful due to the suffering embedded in biological existence. Members discussed topics such as the ethics of reproduction, ecological extinction, and pessimistic takes on consciousness, often citing the ideas of controversial online figures such as Inmendham. The subreddit was ultimately banned on May 18, 2025 after being found in violation of Reddit's self-harm policies.<ref name="NBCefilism">{{Cite web |date=2025-05-19 |title=Reddit bans an anti-natalist group after Palm Springs explosion |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/reddit-bans-anti-natalists-palm-springs-explosion-rcna207677 |access-date=2025-08-22 |website=NBC News |language=en |archive-date=May 19, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250519212901/https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/reddit-bans-anti-natalists-palm-springs-explosion-rcna207677 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-19 |title=Was 'efilism' the extreme ideology behind the Palm Springs fertility clinic bombing? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/palm-springs-fertility-clinic-bombing-efilism-b2753937.html |access-date=2025-08-22 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref> The ban took place a day after the 2025 Palm Springs fertility clinic bombing; the perpetrator of the bombing had directly mentioned several Reddit communities, including r/efilism, in his writings.<ref name="NBCefilism"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Harikrishnan |first1=A |title=Reddit Bans Radical Subreddit After Fatal Blast Outside Fertility Clinic |url=https://techstory.in/reddit-bans-radical-subreddit-after-fatal-blast-outside-fertility-clinic/ |access-date=May 23, 2025 |work=Techstory |date=May 21, 2025 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="powel-2025">{{cite web |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2025/05/19/reddit-anti-natalist-palm-springs-bombing/83731185007/ |title=Reddit bans anti-natalist forum in wake of Palm Springs fertility clinic bombing |last1=Powel |first1=James |last2=Anglen |first2=Robert |last3=Damien |first3=Christopher |date=19 May 2025 |website=USA Today |access-date=29 May 2025}}</ref>
=== FatPeopleHate ===
On June 10, 2015, citing an anti-harassment policy, Reddit banned five subreddits: {{proper name|r/FatPeopleHate}}, {{proper name|r/hamplanethatred}}, {{proper name|r/neofag}}, {{proper name|r/transfags}}, and {{proper name|r/shitniggerssay}}.<ref name="Robertson 2015">{{cite web |last1=Robertson |first1=Adi |title=Reddit bans 'Fat People Hate' and other subreddits under new harassment rules |url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/6/10/8761763/reddit-harassment-ban-fat-people-hate-subreddit |website=The Verge |date=June 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610202905/https://www.theverge.com/2015/6/10/8761763/reddit-harassment-ban-fat-people-hate-subreddit |archive-date=June 10, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |title=Reddit Removes 5 Groups After Creating Harassment Policy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/06/10/business/ap-us-reddit-subreddit-bans.html |department=Business Day |work=The New York Times |date=June 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150612114033/http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/06/10/business/ap-us-reddit-subreddit-bans.html |archive-date=June 12, 2015 }}</ref>
The largest of the five, {{proper name|r/FatPeopleHate}}, had an estimated 151,000 subscribers at the time.<ref name="Robertson 2015" /> The sub hosted photos of overweight people for the purpose of mocking them.{{sfnp|Milner|2016|p=119}} A Reddit admin said: "We will ban subreddits that allow their communities to use the subreddit as a platform to harass individuals when moderators don't take action".<ref name="Robertson 2015" />
Following the ban, Reddit users flooded the site with pictures of overweight people, as well as photos of Reddit's interim CEO Ellen Pao.<ref name="Van Dyke 2015">{{cite web |last=Van Dyke |first=Michelle Broder |title=Reddit Users Revolt After Site Bans 'Fat People Hate' And Other Communities |website=BuzzFeed News |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mbvd/reddit-users-revolt-after-site-bans-fat-people-hate-and-othe |date=June 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150612232457/http://www.buzzfeed.com/mbvd/reddit-users-revolt-after-site-bans-fat-people-hate-and-othe#.vsj6Qp70y |archive-date=June 12, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> Some users moved to Voat, a social aggregation website similar to Reddit,<ref name="Hern 2015">{{Cite news |last1=Hern |first1=Alex |title=Reddit users flee to Swiss copy Voat after harassment clampdown |journal=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jun/15/reddit-users-flee-to-voat-after-harassment-clampdown |date=June 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701003034/http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jun/15/reddit-users-flee-to-voat-after-harassment-clampdown |archive-date=July 1, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> although other fat-shaming forums continued to exist on Reddit.<ref name="Dewey 2015">{{cite news |last1=Dewey |first1=Caitlin |title=Censorship, fat-shaming and the 'Reddit revolt': How Reddit became the Alamo of the Internet's ongoing culture war |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2015/06/12/censorship-fat-shaming-and-the-reddit-revolt-how-reddit-became-the-alamo-of-the-internets-ongoing-culture-war/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=12 June 2015 |url-access=limited |archive-date=September 5, 2022 |access-date=December 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220905055249/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2015/06/12/censorship-fat-shaming-and-the-reddit-revolt-how-reddit-became-the-alamo-of-the-internets-ongoing-culture-war/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== FindBostonBombers ===
Following the Boston Marathon bombing in April of 2013, members of the subreddit {{proper name|r/FindBostonBombers}} wrongly identified several people as suspects, including a 17-year-old track athlete and a 22-year-old Brown University student who had been missing since March.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.3news.co.nz/Innocents-accused-in-online-manhunt/tabid/412/articleID/295143/Default.aspx |work=3 News NZ |title=Innocents accused in online manhunt |date=April 22, 2013 |access-date=May 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215111626/http://www.3news.co.nz/Innocents-accused-in-online-manhunt/tabid/412/articleID/295143/Default.aspx |archive-date=December 15, 2013 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The missing student's body was found in the Providence River in Rhode Island on April 25, 2013, as reported by the Rhode Island Health Department.<ref name="Bidgood 2013">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/26/us/sunil-tripathi-student-at-brown-is-found-dead.html |title=Missing Student at Brown is Found Dead |date=April 25, 2013 |work=The New York Times |first=Jess |last=Bidgood |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620035424/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/26/us/sunil-tripathi-student-at-brown-is-found-dead.html?hp |archive-date=June 20, 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all |url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/25/us/rhode-island-missing-brown-student/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 |title=Body in river that of Brown student, police say |date=April 25, 2013 |work=CNN |first1=Pauline |last1=Kim |first2=Jason |last2=Hanna |access-date=May 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130428035531/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/25/us/rhode-island-missing-brown-student/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 |archive-date=April 28, 2013 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The cause of death was found to be suicide.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nark |first1=Jason |title=The Boston bombing's forgotten victim |url=http://articles.philly.com/2014-04-30/news/49497042_1_sunil-tripathi-providence-river-sunny |access-date=October 31, 2014 |work=Philadelphia Daily News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141115054203/http://articles.philly.com/2014-04-30/news/49497042_1_sunil-tripathi-providence-river-sunny |archive-date=November 15, 2014 |quote=Akhil spent the most time with Sunny before his suicide, weekends at Brown where he tried to help his youngest child foresee a future. }}</ref> The subreddit was later made private.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wade |first1=Chris |title=The Reddit Reckoning |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2014/04/reddit_and_the_boston_marathon_bombings_how_the_site_reckoned_with_its_own.html |access-date=May 23, 2017 |work=Slate |date=April 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170528183636/http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2014/04/reddit_and_the_boston_marathon_bombings_how_the_site_reckoned_with_its_own.html |archive-date=May 28, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Reddit general manager Erik Martin later issued an apology for this behavior, criticizing the "online witch hunts and dangerous speculation" that took place in these investigation-oriented communities.<ref name="Martin apology">{{cite web |last=Martin |first=Erik |title=Reflections on the Recent Boston Crisis |url=https://redditblog.com/2013/04/reflections-on-recent-boston-crisis.html |website=Reddit.com |access-date=May 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140310105548/http://www.redditblog.com/2013/04/reflections-on-recent-boston-crisis.html |archive-date=March 10, 2014 }}</ref> In September 2013, Reddit admins banned a similar subreddit dedicated to finding the Navy Yard shooter(s).<ref name="Peterson 2013">{{cite news |last=Peterson |first=Andrea |title=Reddit bans subreddit dedicated to finding the Navy Yard shooters |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/09/16/reddit-bans-subreddit-for-finding-the-navy-yard-shooters/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=September 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130917035509/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/09/16/reddit-bans-subreddit-for-finding-the-navy-yard-shooters/ |archive-date=September 17, 2013 |url-status=live |url-access=limited}}</ref> These events were dramatized in TV shows ''The Newsroom''<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hathaway |first1=Jay |title=Here's How The Newsroom Covered Reddit's Failed Boston Bombing Manhunt |work=Gawker |url=http://gawker.com/heres-how-the-newsroom-covered-reddits-failed-boston-bo-1657483136 |access-date=June 27, 2015 |date=November 11, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630092603/http://gawker.com/heres-how-the-newsroom-covered-reddits-failed-boston-bo-1657483136 |archive-date=June 30, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Fallon |first1=Kevin |title='Newsroom' Premiere: Aaron Sorkin Puts CNN on Blast Over the Boston Bombing |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/10/newsroom-premiere-aaron-sorkin-puts-cnn-on-blast-over-the-boston-bombing.html |work=The Daily Beast |access-date=June 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150629232025/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/10/newsroom-premiere-aaron-sorkin-puts-cnn-on-blast-over-the-boston-bombing.html |archive-date=June 29, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> and ''The Good Wife''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Harnick |first1=Chris |title='The Good Wife' Recap: Alicia Florrick vs. Anonymous Commenters In 'Whack-a-Mole' |work=The Huffington Post |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-harnick/the-good-wife-recap-whack-a-mole_b_4334401.html |access-date=June 27, 2015 |date=November 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131126192904/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-harnick/the-good-wife-recap-whack-a-mole_b_4334401.html |archive-date=November 26, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
=== GenderCritical === {{Further|Gender-critical feminism}}
The subreddit {{proper name|r/GenderCritical}}, which had 64,400 users, described itself as "Reddit's most active feminist community" for "women-centred, radical feminists" to discuss "gender from a gender-critical perspective". Described by Jillian York of the Electronic Frontier Foundation as "a subreddit where transphobic commentary has thrived",<ref>{{cite news |title=Reddit banned a pro-Trump subreddit. Here's what that means for hate speech. |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/reddit-banned-pro-trump-subreddit-here-s-what-means-hate-ncna1232797 |access-date=August 14, 2020 |work=NBC News |last=York |first=Jillian}}</ref> the subreddit frequently hosted posts asserting that transgender women are not women.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dilkes |first=Jane |date=2024-01-01 |title=Rule 1: Remember the human. A socio-cognitive discourse study of a Reddit forum banned for promoting hate based on identity |journal=Discourse & Society |language=EN |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=48–65 |doi=10.1177/09579265231190344 |issn=0957-9265 |quote=An r/GenderCritical topic relating to the specific gender critical concern of ''gender_identity'' was found to contain the metonymic acronyms ''tim'' (trans-identifying male), and ''tif'' (trans-identifying female), that represent the specific gender critical stance that trans women are still men, and trans men are still women, where metonymic language, and acronyms, may typically be used to stereotype, and denigrate, an outgroup.}}</ref> On June 29, 2020, the subreddit was "banned for violating Reddit's rule against promoting hate".<ref>{{cite news |title=Reddit just banned its viciously transphobic 'gender critical' page amid vigorous crackdown on hate speech |url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/06/29/reddit-bann-transphobia-gender-critical-page-hate-speech-donald-trump-steve-huffman/ |access-date=August 14, 2020 |work=PinkNews |date=June 29, 2020 |archive-date=August 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200816235110/https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/06/29/reddit-bann-transphobia-gender-critical-page-hate-speech-donald-trump-steve-huffman/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=How Reddit kicked off a day of bans for Trump and the far right |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/06/29/1004622/how-reddit-kicked-off-a-day-of-bans-for-trump-and-the-far-right/ |access-date=August 15, 2020 |work=MIT Technology Review |date=June 29, 2020 |archive-date=July 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716085003/https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/06/29/1004622/how-reddit-kicked-off-a-day-of-bans-for-trump-and-the-far-right/ |url-status=live }}</ref> After {{proper name|r/GenderCritical}} was banned, several of its users migrated to Ovarit, a trans-exclusionary radical feminism-centered website similar to Reddit.<ref name="Tiffany"/> It permanently shut down in April 2025.{{cn|date=February 2026}}
=== Gore subreddits === The subreddit r/WatchPeopleDie featured media depicting real-life human deaths, such as workplace accidents, vehicular manslaughter, gun violence, suicides, and various forms of homicide. After it disseminated links to video of the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings, the sub was banned.<ref name="FootnoteA">{{cite web |last=Newcomb |first=Alyssa |date=March 15, 2019 |title=Reddit Bans 'Watch People Die' Subreddit After New Zealand Mosque Video Is Posted to the Site |url=http://fortune.com/2019/03/15/reddit-banned-watch-people-die-new-zealand-mosque-video/ |access-date=March 16, 2019 |website=Fortune |archive-date=July 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728093533/https://fortune.com/2019/03/15/reddit-banned-watch-people-die-new-zealand-mosque-video/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="FootnoteB">{{cite web |last=Lawler |first=Richard |date=March 15, 2019 |title=Reddit bans gore-, death-focused channels following NZ mosque attack |url=https://www.engadget.com/2019/03/15/reddit-ban/ |access-date=March 16, 2019 |website=Engadget |archive-date=April 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190426212254/https://www.engadget.com/2019/03/15/reddit-ban/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="FootnoteC">{{cite web |last=Hatmaker |first=Taylor |date=March 15, 2019 |title=After Christchurch, Reddit bans communities infamous for sharing graphic videos of death |url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/15/reddit-watchpeopledie-subreddit-gore/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190317003210/https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/15/reddit-watchpeopledie-subreddit-gore/ |archive-date=March 17, 2019 |access-date=March 16, 2019 |website=TechCrunch}}</ref> The similar subreddit {{proper name|r/Gore}} was banned at the same time, as was {{proper name|r/WPDTalk}}, a subreddit for discussion on what went on in {{proper name|r/WatchPeopleDie}}.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shamsian |first=Jacob |title=Reddit shut down a 400,000-person community devoted to videos of people dying after users posted footage of the New Zealand mosque massacre |url=https://www.thisisinsider.com/new-zealand-shooting-reddit-ban-glorify-violence-2019-3 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324111953/https://www.thisisinsider.com/new-zealand-shooting-reddit-ban-glorify-violence-2019-3 |archive-date=March 24, 2019 |access-date=March 24, 2019 |website=Insider}}</ref>
The sub had previously been quarantined for over half a year, but less than a day after the Christchurch shootings, Reddit banned it completely for violating Reddit's policy against "glorifying or encouraging violence". Moderators of the subreddit had initially allowed the video to be shared.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Griffin |first1=Andrew |date=March 15, 2019 |title=New Zealand attack video spreads across Twitter, YouTube and Reddit despite pleas from police not to share it |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/new-zealand-attack-video-shooting-mosque-christchurch-reddit-youtube-twitter-a8824131.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190315160439/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/new-zealand-attack-video-shooting-mosque-christchurch-reddit-youtube-twitter-a8824131.html |archive-date=March 15, 2019 |access-date=March 15, 2019 |website=The Independent}}</ref>
WatchPeopleDie (WPD) subsequently relaunched as a standalone website.<ref name=adlwpd>{{cite web |url=https://www.adl.org/resources/article/gore-hate-how-watchpeopledie-serves-gateway-extremism |title=From Gore to Hate: How "WatchPeopleDie" Serves as a Gateway to Extremism |date=August 21, 2025 |publisher=Anti-Defamation League |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260309203138/https://www.adl.org/resources/article/gore-hate-how-watchpeopledie-serves-gateway-extremism |archive-date=March 9, 2026}}</ref>
=== GunsForSale ===
In January 2014, ''Mother Jones'' published a story about gun sales on Reddit, suggesting that sellers were using the platform to exploit a loophole in U.S. federal law.<ref>{{cite news |last=Follman |first=Mark |title=How Reddit Became a Gun Market—and Authorized Its Logo on Assault Rifles |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/01/reddit-guns-assault-rifle-ar15-logo-conde-nast |access-date=January 9, 2014 |newspaper=Mother Jones |date=January 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109235116/http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/01/reddit-guns-assault-rifle-ar15-logo-conde-nast |archive-date=January 9, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> Nearly 100 AR-15s were engraved with the Reddit logo as part of a licensing deal made with the sub in 2011.<ref name="Nocera 2014">{{cite news |last=Nocera |first=Joe |title=The Gun Report: January 9, 2014 |url=http://nocera.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/09/the-gun-report-january-9-2014 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 9, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110100218/http://nocera.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/09/the-gun-report-january-9-2014 |archive-date=January 10, 2014 }}</ref> It was banned on March 21, 2018, after Reddit updated its content policies to forbid subreddits that facilitate transactions involving certain goods and services.<ref>{{cite news |last=Musil |first=Steven |title=Reddit removes several firearms-related forums |url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/reddit-removes-several-firearms-related-forums/ |access-date=25 March 2022 |website=CNET |date=21 March 2018 |archive-date=March 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220325185600/https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/reddit-removes-several-firearms-related-forums/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Incel subreddits === {{Further|Incel}}
A subreddit founded for "involuntary celibates", {{proper name|r/Incels}} was a forum wherein members discussed their lack of romantic success.<ref name="Liberman 2017">{{cite journal |last1=Liberman |first1=Alida |title=Disability, sex rights and the scope of sexual exclusion |journal=Journal of Medical Ethics |date=2017 |volume=44 |issue=4 |pages=253–256 |doi=10.1136/medethics-2017-104411 |pmid=29101302 |s2cid=4159542 |url=https://philpapers.org/rec/LIBDSR |archive-date=January 29, 2024 |access-date=November 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129081603/https://philpapers.org/rec/LIBDSR |url-status=live }}</ref> The sub defined an "incel" as a person over age 20 who has unintentionally gone at least six months without a romantic partner.<ref name="Subcultures & Sociology" /> Self-described incels are largely heterosexual men.<ref name="Subcultures & Sociology">{{cite web |url=http://haenfler.sites.grinnell.edu/subcultures-and-scenes/incels/ |title=Subcultures and Sociology: Incels |website=haenfler.sites.grinnell.edu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201045719/http://haenfler.sites.grinnell.edu/subcultures-and-scenes/incels/ |archive-date=December 1, 2017 }}</ref>
Many members of r/incels adhered to the "black pill" ideology,<ref name="Hathaway Nov 2017">{{cite web |url=https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/reddit-incels-ban/ |title=Why Reddit finally banned one of its most misogynistic forums |last=Hathaway |first=Jay |date=November 10, 2017 |website=The Daily Dot |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111023852/https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/reddit-incels-ban/ |archive-date=November 11, 2017 }}</ref><ref name="Sonnad">{{cite web |last1=Sonnad |first1=Nikhil |last2=Squirrell |first2=Tim |title=The alt-right is creating its own dialect. Here's the dictionary |url=https://qz.com/1092037/the-alt-right-is-creating-its-own-dialect-heres-a-complete-guide/ |website=Quartz |date=30 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180307194831/https://qz.com/1092037/the-alt-right-is-creating-its-own-dialect-heres-a-complete-guide/ |archive-date=March 7, 2018}}</ref> which espouses despondency often coupled with misogynistic views that condone, downplay, or advocate rape.<ref name="Subcultures & Sociology" /> Notable black pill posts were titled "Reasons why women are the embodiment of evil" and "Proof that girls are nothing but trash that use men".<ref name="Solon Nov 2017">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/nov/08/reddit-incel-involuntary-celibate-men-ban |title='Incel': Reddit bans misogynist men's group blaming women for their celibacy |last=Solon |first=Olivia |date=November 8, 2017 |work=The Guardian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108214200/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/nov/08/reddit-incel-involuntary-celibate-men-ban |archive-date=November 8, 2017 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Posts often referred to women as "femoids," "foids", (both short for "female humanoid") "cunts", "cum dumpsters", and "sluts".<ref name="Subcultures & Sociology" /> Moderators banned users who were deemed too female-friendly or claimed that women experienced inceldom to the same extent as men.<ref name="Hathaway Nov 2017" /> The subreddit's users intermittently revered or hated "normies" and "Chads" for their courtship abilities, while some admired murderers such as Elliot Rodger, a self-identified "incel" who committed the 2014 Isla Vista killings.<ref name="Hauser 2017">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/09/technology/incels-reddit-banned.html |title=Reddit Bans 'Incel' Group for Inciting Violence Against Women |last=Hauser |first=Christine |date=November 9, 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201041719/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/09/technology/incels-reddit-banned.html?_r=0 |archive-date=December 1, 2017 |url-status=live |url-access=limited}}</ref>{{r|Subcultures & Sociology}}<ref name="Tait 2017">{{cite news |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/internet/2017/02/reddit-the-red-pill-interview-how-misogyny-spreads-online |title=Spitting out the Red Pill: Former misogynists reveal how they were radicalised online |last=Tait |first=Amelia |date=February 28, 2017 |work=New Statesman |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171105010342/https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/internet/2017/02/reddit-the-red-pill-interview-how-misogyny-spreads-online |archive-date=November 5, 2017 |url-status=live |url-access=limited}}</ref>
In the summer of 2017, a petition on Change.org called for {{proper name|r/Incels}} to be banned for inciting violence against women.{{r|Hauser 2017}} Following the October implementation of a new Reddit policy that prohibited the incitement of violence, the subreddit was banned on November 7, 2017.<ref name="Fingas Nov 2017">{{Cite news |url=https://www.engadget.com/2017/11/08/reddit-bans-misogynist-community-in-anti-violence-crackdown/ |title=Reddit bans misogynist community as part of anti-violence crackdown |last=Fingas |first=Jon |date=November 8, 2017 |work=Engadget |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109020239/https://www.engadget.com/2017/11/08/reddit-bans-misogynist-community-in-anti-violence-crackdown/ |archive-date=November 9, 2017 }}</ref> At that time, {{proper name|r/incels}} had around 40,000 subscribers.<ref name="Solon Nov 2017" />
After r/Incels was banned, {{proper name|r/Braincels}} subsequently became the most popular subreddit for incels, gaining 16,900 users by April 2018. After the 2018 Toronto van attack, posts appeared on this subreddit praising the actions of Alek Minassian, the alleged perpetrator. Later, the subreddit's leaders disavowed the attack and deleted some of the posts that praised Minassian.<ref name="Lamoureaux, Mack">{{cite magazine |author=Lamoureaux, Mack |date=April 24, 2018 |title=A Brief History of 'Incel,' the Misogynistic Group Allegedly Cited By Toronto Van Attacker |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/a-brief-history-of-incel-the-misogynistic-group-allegedly-cited-by-toronto-van-attacker/ |magazine=Vice |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123112042/https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/pax9kz/a-brief-history-of-incel-the-misogynistic-group-allegedly-cited-by-toronto-van-attacker |archive-date=November 23, 2018}}</ref> r/Braincels was banned in September 2019 for violating Reddit's content policy with respect to bullying and harassment.<ref name="Binder 2019">{{cite web |last1=Binder |first1=Matt |date=September 30, 2019 |title=Reddit changes its harassment policy and bans major incel community |url=https://mashable.com/article/reddit-harassment-braincels/ |website=Mashable |access-date=April 29, 2021 |archive-date=April 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429101300/https://mashable.com/article/reddit-harassment-braincels/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Basu 2020" /><ref name="braincels">{{cite web |title=r/braincels |url=https://reddit.com/r/braincels |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001153104/https://www.reddit.com/r/braincels |archive-date=October 1, 2019 |website=reddit}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Robertson |first=Adi |date=2019-09-30 |title=Reddit has broadened its anti-harassment rules and banned a major incel forum |url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/30/20891920/reddit-harassment-bullying-threats-new-policy-change-rules-subreddits |access-date=2024-11-17 |website=The Verge |language=en |archive-date=October 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001013721/https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/30/20891920/reddit-harassment-bullying-threats-new-policy-change-rules-subreddits |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== {{anchor|r/jailbait}} Jailbait === {{See also|Jailbait}} Reddit's staff was initially opposed to the addition of obscene material to the site, but they eventually became more lenient when prolific moderators, such as a user named u/violentacrez, proved capable of identifying and removing illegal content at a time when Reddit had insufficient paid staff to do so.<ref name="Gawkerexpose" />
Communities devoted to explicit material saw rising popularity, and in a 2008 "Best of Reddit" user poll, users chose r/Jailbait (a sub featuring provocative photos of underage teenagers) as "subreddit of the year".<ref name="Gawkerexpose" /> At one point, "jailbait" was the second most common search term on Reddit.<ref name="Gawkerexpose" /> Erik Martin, Reddit's general manager, defended r/Jailbait, arguing that such controversial pages were a consequence of allowing free speech on the site.<ref name="A. Fernando" />
{{proper name|r/Jailbait}} came to wider attention outside Reddit when Anderson Cooper of CNN devoted a segment of his program to condemning the subreddit and criticizing Reddit for hosting it.<ref>{{cite news |last=Morris |first=Kevin |title=Anderson Cooper boosts visibility of teen-girl pics |url=http://www.dailydot.com/society/anderson-cooper-reddit-jailbait-traffic/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304195251/http://www.dailydot.com/society/anderson-cooper-reddit-jailbait-traffic/ |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |access-date=October 28, 2012 |newspaper=The Daily Dot |date=October 3, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Tufekci |first=Zeynep |title=Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2017 |pages=164–169}}</ref> Initially, this caused a spike in Internet traffic to the subreddit, causing the page to peak at 1.73 million views on the day of the report.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/TheoryOfReddit/comments/kzlga/traffic_statistics_for_rjailbait/ |title=r/TheoryOfReddit – Traffic statistics for /r/jailbait |website=reddit |date=October 3, 2011 |access-date=March 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151121164749/https://www.reddit.com/r/TheoryOfReddit/comments/kzlga/traffic_statistics_for_rjailbait/ |archive-date=November 21, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>
In the wake of these news reports, a Reddit user posted an image of an underage girl to {{proper name|r/Jailbait}} and subsequently claimed to have nude images of her. In response, dozens of Reddit users posted requests for the nude photos to be shared with them via private message.<ref name="shutdowncontroversy">{{cite news |last=Morris |first=Kevin |title=Reddit shuts down r/jailbait |url=http://www.dailydot.com/society/reddit-r-jailbait-shutdown-controversy/ |access-date=October 28, 2012 |newspaper=The Daily Dot |date=October 11, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926122135/http://www.dailydot.com/society/reddit-r-jailbait-shutdown-controversy/ |archive-date=September 26, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> Other Reddit users drew attention to this discussion, and Reddit administrators closed the {{proper name|r/Jailbait}} forum on October 11, 2011.<ref name="shutdowncontroversy" /> Critics of the ban, such as {{proper name|r/Jailbait}}'s creator, charged that Reddit administrators used the thread as an excuse to close down a controversial subreddit following the negative media coverage it had attracted.<ref name="jailbaitclosure" /> Others claimed that members of the ''Something Awful'' forum, not r/Jailbait's regulars, had created the thread in an attempt to get the sub shut down.<ref>{{cite news |last=Morris |first=Kevin |title=Did SomethingAwful raid jailbait forum? |url=http://www.dailydot.com/news/somethingawful-reddit-jailbait-takedown/ |access-date=October 28, 2012 |newspaper=The Daily Dot |date=October 13, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926065004/http://www.dailydot.com/news/somethingawful-reddit-jailbait-takedown/ |archive-date=September 26, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Following the closure of {{proper name|r/Jailbait}}, ''The Daily Dot'' declared the community's creator, u/violentacrez, "The Most Important Person on Reddit in 2011", calling the {{proper name|r/Jailbait}} controversy "the first major challenge to the site's voluntary doctrine of absolute free speech".<ref>{{cite news |last=Morris |first=Kevin |title=The 10 most important people on Reddit in 2011 |url=http://www.dailydot.com/society/daily-dot-top-10-2011-reddit/ |access-date=October 28, 2012 |newspaper=The Daily Dot |date=December 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130112220717/http://www.dailydot.com/society/daily-dot-top-10-2011-reddit/ |archive-date=January 12, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
=== {{anchor|r/jakolandia}} Jakolandia ===
In January 2019, a Philippine-based subreddit, {{proper name|r/Jakolandia}}, was accused of "distributing" posts with photos of women (including celebrities) that were apparently taken without their consent. "A number" of secret Facebook groups had been taking similar actions, engaging in illegal activity by sharing "obscene" photos of women and possibly child pornography.<ref name="Sy Cua 2019">{{Cite web |last=Sy Cua |first=Aric John |url=https://www.manilatimes.net/netizens-slam-disturbing-photos-on-ph-subsite-on-reddit/496547/ |title=Netizens slam 'disturbing' photos of PH subsite on Reddit |work=The Manila Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190116045925/https://www.manilatimes.net/netizens-slam-disturbing-photos-on-ph-subsite-on-reddit/496547/ |archive-date=January 16, 2019 |url-status=live |date=January 14, 2019}}</ref> {{proper name|r/jakolandia}} was later banned as a result.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Madarang |first=Catalina Ricci S. |date=January 16, 2019 |title=Reddit forum closed over inappropriate content against women |url=https://interaksyon.philstar.com/trends-spotlights/2019/01/16/142340/reddit-forum-closed-over-inappropriate-content-against-women/ |access-date=October 20, 2020 |website=Interaksyon |archive-date=October 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026060351/https://interaksyon.philstar.com/trends-spotlights/2019/01/16/142340/reddit-forum-closed-over-inappropriate-content-against-women/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== MGTOW === {{Further|Men Going Their Own Way}}
{{proper name|r/MGTOW}} was a subreddit for Men Going Their Own Way, an anti-feminist, misogynistic, mostly online community advocating for men to separate themselves from women. It also advocates separation from society, which they believe feminism has corrupted.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wright |first1=Scott |last2=Trott |first2=Verity |last3=Jones |first3=Callum |date=2020 |title='The pussy ain't worth it, bro': assessing the discourse and structure of MGTOW |journal=Information, Communication & Society |volume=23 |issue=6 |pages=908–925 |doi=10.1080/1369118X.2020.1751867 |s2cid=219023052 |issn=1369-118X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lin |first=Jie Liang |title=Digital Environments: Ethnographic Perspectives Across Global Online and Offline Spaces |publisher=Transcript Verlag |year=2017 |isbn=978-3-8376-3497-6 |editor-last=Frömming |editor-first=Urte Undine |series=Edition Medienwissenschaft |pages=77–96 |chapter=Antifeminism Online: MGTOW (Men Going Their Own Way) |jstor=j.ctv1xxrxw.9 |jstor-access=free |editor-last2=Köhn |editor-first2=Steffen |editor-last3=Fox |editor-first3=Samantha |editor-last4=Terry |editor-first4=Mike}}</ref> In January 2020, a group of researchers published a preprint of an analysis of the manosphere, which listed {{proper name|r/MGTOW}} among a group of growing online communities involved in "online harassment and real-world violence".<ref name="Ribeiro 2021">{{Cite conference |last1=Ribeiro |first1=Manoel Horta |last2=Blackburn |last3=Bradlyn |first3=Barry |first2=Jeremy |last4=De Cristofaro |first4=Emiliano |last5=Stringhini |first5=Gianluca |last6=Long |first6=Summer |last7=Greenberg |first7=Stephanie |last8=Zannettou |first8=Savvas |display-authors=3 |title=The Evolution of the Manosphere Across the Web |book-title=Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media |date=2021 |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=196–207 |isbn=978-1-57735-869-5 |url=https://ojs.aaai.org/index.php/ICWSM/article/view/18053/17856 |doi=10.1609/icwsm.v15i1.18053 |doi-access=free |issn=2334-0770 |publisher=Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence |location=Palo Alto, Calif. |arxiv=2001.07600v5 |access-date=January 9, 2024 |archive-date=September 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240901235007/https://ojs.aaai.org/index.php/ICWSM/article/view/18053/17856 |url-status=live }}</ref> Reddit quarantined the subreddit shortly afterward.<ref name="Basu 2020">{{cite web |last=Basu |first=Tanya |title=The 'manosphere' is getting more toxic as angry men join the incels |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/02/07/349052/the-manosphere-is-getting-more-toxic-as-angry-men-join-the-incels/ |website=MIT Technology Review |date=February 7, 2020 |url-access=limited |access-date=April 29, 2021 |archive-date=March 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210326170934/https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/02/07/349052/the-manosphere-is-getting-more-toxic-as-angry-men-join-the-incels/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In August 2021, Reddit banned the subreddit for violating its policies prohibiting content that "incites violence or promotes hate based on identity or vulnerability".<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Thalen |first=Mikael |date=August 3, 2021 |title=Reddit bans notorious anti-feminist subreddit 'Men Going Their Own Way' |url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/mgtow-subreddit-banned/ |url-status=live |access-date=August 4, 2021 |website=The Daily Dot|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803211133/https://www.dailydot.com/debug/mgtow-subreddit-banned/ |archive-date=August 3, 2021 }}</ref>
=== MillionDollarExtreme ===
{{proper name|r/MillionDollarExtreme}} was dedicated to the comedy group Million Dollar Extreme, who were accused of having connections with the alt-right. Its users propagated various anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and heavily promoted racist, homophobic, and transphobic content. On September 10, 2018, when the sub had around 43,000 subscribers, it was banned for violating Reddit's content policy regarding violent content. Million Dollar Extreme's YouTube channel and Instagram account had already been terminated earlier that year.<ref name="buzzfeed-mde">{{cite web |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ishmaeldaro/reddit-sam-hyde-million-dollar-extreme-ban |title=Reddit Banned A Page That Trafficked In White Supremacist Content, But The Problem Is Much Bigger |first=Daro |last=Ishmael |website=BuzzFeed News |date=September 11, 2018|access-date=September 13, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913073732/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ishmaeldaro/reddit-sam-hyde-million-dollar-extreme-ban |archive-date=September 13, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Associated subreddits {{proper name|r/BillionShekelSupreme}}, {{proper name|r/milliondollarextreme2}}, {{proper name|r/ChadRight}}, and several others were subsequently banned.<ref name="buzzfeed-mde" /><ref name="Verge-QAnon">{{cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/12/17847186/reddit-qanon-milliondollarextreme-ban-sam-hyde |title=Reddit's QAnon ban points to how it's tracking toxic communities |first=Bijan |last=Stephen |website=The Verge|date=September 12, 2018|access-date=September 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516133952/https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/12/17847186/reddit-qanon-milliondollarextreme-ban-sam-hyde |archive-date=May 16, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>
=== NoNewNormal ===
{{proper name|r/NoNewNormal}} was a subreddit critical of the responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. It propagated various conspiracies about the pandemic and measures to control it, including lockdowns, masking, vaccines, and the implementation of a "new normal". It was quarantined for misinformation on August 12, 2021, when it had accumulated over 112,000 subscribers. Subreddits {{proper name|r/rejectnewnormal}} and {{proper name|r/refusenewnormal}} were subsequently banned for trying to circumvent the quarantine, and {{proper name|r/PandemicHoax}} and {{proper name|r/truthseekers}}, which hosted similar content, set themselves to private.<ref>{{cite news |last=Cole |first=Samantha |title=Reddit Quarantines AntiMask Antivax Subreddit |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/reddit-quarantine-nonewnormal/ |date=August 12, 2021 |access-date=August 13, 2021 |website=Vice |archive-date=September 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240919222835/https://www.vice.com/en/article/reddit-quarantine-nonewnormal/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Thalen |first=Mikael |title=Anti-vax, anti-mask forum NoNewNormal quarantined by Reddit |url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/anti-vax-anti-mask-forum-nonewnormal-quarantined-by-reddit/ |date=August 12, 2021 |access-date=August 13, 2021 |website=The Daily Dot |archive-date=August 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812190727/https://www.dailydot.com/debug/anti-vax-anti-mask-forum-nonewnormal-quarantined-by-reddit/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
In a thread on {{proper name|r/vaxxhappened}}, a community opposing vaccine misinformation, a Redditor called upon administrators to ban subreddits that primarily spread medical misinformation.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Haroun |first1=Azmi |title=Popular pro-vaccine Reddit page calls on founders to do more to combat COVID-19 disinformation |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-page-calls-on-site-to-combat-covid-19-disinformation-2021-8?r=US&IR=T |website=Business Insider |access-date=August 31, 2021 |archive-date=August 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829131105/https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-page-calls-on-site-to-combat-covid-19-disinformation-2021-8?r=US&IR=T |url-status=live }}</ref> Admins responded that Reddit is a platform for free speech and discussion, and would continue to allow subreddits that challenge the consensus views on the pandemic.<ref>{{cite web |first=Igor |last=Bonifacic |title=Reddit CEO rejects call for a crackdown on coronavirus misinformation |url=https://www.engadget.com/reddit-211856313.html |website=Engadget |date=August 26, 2021 |access-date=6 December 2024 |archive-date=August 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831032254/https://www.engadget.com/reddit-211856313.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In protest of Reddit's response, the moderators of 135 subreddits (including {{Not a typo|r/flor|ida}}, {{proper name|r/futurology}}, {{proper name|r/pokemongo}}, {{proper name|r/startrek}}, and {{proper name|r/tifu}}) made their subreddits private.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schlitz |first=Heather |date=September 1, 2021 |title=135 subreddits are 'going dark' to protest Reddit's refusal to ban COVID disinformation |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/135-subreddits-go-dark-to-protest-inaction-on-covid-disinformation-2021-9 |url-status=live |access-date=September 6, 2021 |website=Business Insider|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901162137/https://www.businessinsider.com/135-subreddits-go-dark-to-protest-inaction-on-covid-disinformation-2021-9 |archive-date=September 1, 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Goforth |first1=Claire |title=After Reddit refuses demands for crackdown, dozens of subreddits go dark to protest COVID disinformation |url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/subreddits-private-protest-covid-disinformation-reddit/ |website=The Daily Dot |date=August 30, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Kan |first1=Michael |title=Pokémon Go Forum Goes Dark to Protest Reddit's COVID-19 Misinformation Problem |url=https://www.pcmag.com/news/pokemon-go-forum-goes-dark-to-protest-reddits-covid-19-misinformation-problem |website=PCMAG |date=August 30, 2021 |access-date=August 31, 2021 |archive-date=August 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831032246/https://www.pcmag.com/news/pokemon-go-forum-goes-dark-to-protest-reddits-covid-19-misinformation-problem |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=u/Femilip |title=Subs going dark |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/N8theGr8/comments/pelle1/subs_going_dark/ |website=Reddit |department=r/N8theGr8 |date=August 30, 2021 |access-date=August 31, 2021 |archive-date=August 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831032254/https://www.reddit.com/r/N8theGr8/comments/pelle1/subs_going_dark/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
On September 1, 2021, Reddit banned r/NoNewNormal for brigading subreddits that criticized it,<ref>{{cite news |last=Gonzalez |first=Oscar |title=Reddit bans active COVID misinformation subreddit NoNewNormal |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/reddit-bans-active-covid-misinformation-subreddit-nonewnormal/ |date=September 1, 2021 |access-date=September 1, 2021 |website=CNET }}</ref><ref name="Guardian COVID">{{Cite web |last=Milmo |first=Dan |date=September 1, 2021 |title=Reddit bans Covid misinformation forum after 'go dark' protest |url=http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/sep/01/reddit-communities-go-dark-in-protest-over-covid-misinformation |url-status=live |access-date=September 1, 2021 |website=The Guardian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901121438/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/sep/01/reddit-communities-go-dark-in-protest-over-covid-misinformation |archive-date=September 1, 2021 }}</ref> and quarantined 54 other subreddits associated with COVID-19 denial.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Mitchell |date=September 1, 2021 |title=Reddit bans anti-vaccine subreddit r/NoNewNormal after site-wide protest |url=https://www.theverge.com/22652705/reddit-covid-misinformation-ban-nonewnormal-health-policies |access-date=September 6, 2021 |website=The Verge |archive-date=September 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906024546/https://www.theverge.com/22652705/reddit-covid-misinformation-ban-nonewnormal-health-policies |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Physical_Removal === Members of {{proper name|r/Physical_Removal}} advocated for the forced deportation or physical removal of political leftists from the United States. Its name references a quote by right-wing libertarian philosopher Hans-Hermann Hoppe, who wrote: "There can be no tolerance toward democrats and communists in a libertarian social order. They will have to be physically separated and removed from society".
The sub was controversial for its promotion of violence against leftists and other groups. For instance, users would refer to throwing people from helicopters, an extrajudicial execution method used by Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. After the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, r/Physical_Removal drew criticism after mocking the death of Heather Heyer, who was struck and killed by a car driven by a far-right terrorist at the rally.<ref name=":6">[http://www.thedailybeast.com/reddit-bans-forum-inciting-physical-removal-of-democrats-from-society Reddit Bans Forum Inciting 'Physical Removal' of Democrats From Society] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816043040/http://www.thedailybeast.com/reddit-bans-forum-inciting-physical-removal-of-democrats-from-society |date=August 16, 2017}}, ''The Daily Beast'', August 15, 2017</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/james-alex-fields-jr-charlottesville-car-attack-appeared-fond-adolf-hitler/ |title=What we know about accused Charlottesville driver James Alex Fields Jr |website=cbsnews.com |date=August 14, 2017 |access-date=November 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171121103823/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/james-alex-fields-jr-charlottesville-car-attack-appeared-fond-adolf-hitler/ |archive-date=November 21, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
The subreddit was banned on August 15th, 2017 for violating its policy against the incitement of violence.<ref name=":6" />
=== Pizzagate === {{see also|Pizzagate conspiracy theory}}
"Pizzagate" is a conspiracy theory that emerged from social media and fake news websites in early November 2016. It falsely alleged that a child trafficking ring existed which involved Democratic Party officials and restaurants such as Comet Ping Pong.
Over 20,000 subscribers joined {{proper name|r/pizzagate}} (a spinoff from r/The_Donald) to discuss this conspiracy theory.<ref name="Kang 2016">{{cite news |last=Kang |first=Cecilia |title=Fake News Onslaught Targets Pizzeria as Nest of Child-Trafficking |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/21/technology/fact-check-this-pizzeria-is-not-a-child-trafficking-site.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=November 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161208232606/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/21/technology/fact-check-this-pizzeria-is-not-a-child-trafficking-site.html |archive-date=December 8, 2016 |url-status=live |url-access=limited}}</ref> Because users would post the personal details of people allegedly connected to Pizzagate, Reddit banned the sub on November 23, 2016 for violating its anti-doxing policy.<ref name="Ohlheiser 2016">{{cite news |last=Ohlheiser |first=Abby |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/11/23/fearing-yet-another-witch-hunt-reddit-bans-pizzagate/ |title=Fearing yet another witch hunt, Reddit bans 'Pizzagate' |date=November 24, 2016 |newspaper=Washington Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230234312/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/11/23/fearing-yet-another-witch-hunt-reddit-bans-pizzagate/ |archive-date=December 30, 2016 |url-status=live |url-access=limited}}</ref>
=== QAnon-related subreddits === {{Further|QAnon}}
Reddit attracted attention from mainstream publications in 2018 for the role it played in spreading the QAnon conspiracy theory from 4chan and 8chan to the wider internet. At QAnon's peak, tens of thousands of users were subscribed to various subreddits promoting the conspiracy theory. In response, Reddit began to ban these subreddits for breaking sitewide rules.<ref name="NBC-QAnon">{{cite news |last1=Collins |first1=Ben |first2=Brandy|last2=Zadrozny|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/how-three-conspiracy-theorists-took-q-sparked-qanon-n900531 |title=How three conspiracy theorists took 'Q' and sparked Qanon |date=August 14, 2018 |website=NBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901193701/https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/how-three-conspiracy-theorists-took-q-sparked-qanon-n900531 |archive-date=September 1, 2022|access-date=September 2, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Atlantic-QAnon">{{cite news |last=Tiffany |first=Kaitlyn |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/09/reddit-qanon-ban-evasion-policy-moderation-facebook/616442/ |title=Reddit Squashed QAnon by Accident |date=September 23, 2020 |website=The Atlantic|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817114113/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/09/reddit-qanon-ban-evasion-policy-moderation-facebook/616442/ |archive-date=August 17, 2022|access-date=September 2, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Verge-QAnon"/>
In March 2018, the original QAnon sub {{proper name|r/CBTS_stream}} was banned for inciting violence and sharing confidential personal information. The sub (whose name refers to the "calm before the storm") had accumulated over 20,000 subscribers. {{proper name|r/GreatAwakening}}, which had a more active userbase with over 71,000 subscribers and an average of 10,000 comments per day, was banned in September that year for repeated content violations, such as harassing a user they misidentified as the suspect of the Jacksonville Landing shooting. Around 17 other subreddits, such as {{proper name|r/BiblicalQ}}, {{proper name|r/Quincels}}, and backup sub {{proper name|r/The_GreatAwakening}}, were also banned.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Collins |first1=Ben |first2=Brandy|last2=Zadrozny|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/reddit-bans-qanon-subreddits-after-months-violent-threats-n909061 |title=Reddit bans Qanon subreddits after months of violent threats |date=September 12, 2018 |website=NBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220614054050/https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/reddit-bans-qanon-subreddits-after-months-violent-threats-n909061 |archive-date=June 14, 2022|access-date=September 2, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Verge-QAnon" /><ref>{{cite news|last=Covucci|first=David|title=Reddit bans popular QAnon forum Great Awakening|url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/reddit-bans-qanon-forum-great-awakening/|website=The Daily Dot|date=September 12, 2018|access-date=September 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218100636/https://www.dailydot.com/debug/reddit-bans-qanon-forum-great-awakening/|archive-date=February 18, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref> By 2020, these bans had significantly decreased QAnon-related discussions on Reddit, and the remaining discussions focused on criticisms of the conspiracy theory.<ref name="Atlantic-QAnon" />
=== SanctionedSuicide === {{Main|Sanctioned Suicide}}
{{proper name|r/SanctionedSuicide}} was a subreddit that approached the topic of suicide from a pro-choice perspective. It included discussions surrounding the ethics of suicide as well as posts containing rants from Reddit users.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Brown |first1=Jennings |title=The Strange Legacy Of The First Sanctioned Suicide Forum |url=http://www.vocativ.com/372267/suicide-forums/index.html |access-date=March 18, 2018 |work=Vocativ |date=December 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319151358/http://www.vocativ.com/372267/suicide-forums/index.html |archive-date=March 19, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Reddit banned the subreddit on March 14, 2018, for violating its guidelines; this prompted the creation of its own website, Sanctioned Suicide, where many of the subreddit's users migrated to thereafter.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Dance|first1=Gabriel J.X.|last2=Twohey|first2=Megan|title=Where the Despairing Log On, and Learn Ways to Die|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/12/09/us/where-the-despairing-log-on.html|date=9 December 2021|access-date=26 March 2022|quote=It came online after Reddit shut down a group where people had been sharing suicide methods and encouraging self-harm. Reddit prohibited such discussion, as did Facebook, Twitter and other platforms. Serge wrote days after the new site opened that the two men had started working on it because they 'hated to see the community disperse and disappear.'|archive-date=February 14, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230214211928/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/12/09/us/where-the-despairing-log-on.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
=== SonyGOP === {{Further|Sony Pictures hack}}
On December 15, 2014, Reddit took the unusual step of banning a subreddit, {{proper name|r/SonyGOP}}, which was being used to distribute hacked Sony files.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Goldman |first1=David |title=Reddit takes down Sony hack forum |url=https://money.cnn.com/2014/12/17/technology/security/reddit-sony-hack-forum-ban/ |access-date=January 4, 2015 |date=December 29, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104205335/https://money.cnn.com/2014/12/17/technology/security/reddit-sony-hack-forum-ban/ |archive-date=January 4, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
=== Shoplifting ===
The subreddit {{proper name|r/Shoplifting}} was devoted to stories, tips, and questions for the purpose of shoplifting at large commercial retail chain stores. It dissuaded people from shoplifting from smaller stores, which were presumed to suffer greater losses from theft. Users often posted pictures of items they had supposedly "lifted".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mashable.com/2017/08/30/shoplifting-reddit-subreddit/ |title=There's a shoplifting subreddit. Morals not welcome |first=Brian |last=Koerber |website=Mashable |date=August 30, 2017 |access-date=March 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322112142/https://mashable.com/2017/08/30/shoplifting-reddit-subreddit/#lef9jTcjv5qG |archive-date=March 22, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Near the end of its existence, over 77,000 people were subscribed to the subreddit.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Shoplifting/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180310205031/https://www.reddit.com/r/Shoplifting/ |archive-date=March 10, 2018 |title=r/Shoplifting: Let's talk about stealing shit, but never actually steal shit, bcos illegal |date=March 10, 2018}}</ref> It was banned on March 21, 2018, because it violated an amendment to the Reddit User Agreement—added that same day—which states: "Users may not use Reddit to solicit or facilitate any transaction or gift involving certain goods and services, including: ... Stolen goods".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gizmodo.com/reddit-bans-slew-of-communities-amid-new-rule-targeting-1823961868 |title=Reddit Bans Slew of Communities Amid New Rule Targeting Sales, Trades, and Giveaways |first=Bryan |last=Menegus |date=March 21, 2018 |access-date=March 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322120910/https://gizmodo.com/reddit-bans-slew-of-communities-amid-new-rule-targeting-1823961868 |archive-date=March 22, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
=== The_Donald === {{main|r/The_Donald}}
r/The_Donald was a community created for supporters of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. In November 2016 Reddit banned many of the sub's "toxic" users, alleging that they harassed Reddit administrators and manipulated the site's algorithms in order to push content to Reddit's front page.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-38165435 |title=Reddit moves against 'toxic' Trump fans – BBC News |journal=BBC News |date=November 30, 2016 |access-date=December 4, 2016 |last1=Lee |first1=Dave |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201001207/http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-38165435 |archive-date=December 1, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Reddit's CEO Steve Huffman (known as u/spez on Reddit) had recently admitted to silently editing comments in r/The_Donald which attacked him. Subsequently, the term "spez" entered The_Donald's terminology as a synonym for "edit".<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-38088712 |title=Reddit CEO Steve Huffman admits changing posts made by Donald Trump supporters – BBC Newsbeat |publisher=BBC |date=November 24, 2016 |access-date=December 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161205152252/http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/38088712/reddit-ceo-steve-huffman-admits-changing-posts-made-by-donald-trump-supporters |archive-date=December 5, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
In response, Reddit modified the site's algorithms to specifically prevent the sub's moderators from gaming them.<ref name="SLT" /> Additionally, Reddit introduced a filtering feature which allowed individual users to block content from any sub. While Reddit had been developing this feature before problems with r/The_Donald arose, critics suggested that it was introduced specifically to allow users to block that community.<ref name="SLT">{{cite web |last=Ohlheiser |first=Abby |url=http://www.sltrib.com/home/4660231-155/reddit-will-limit-the-reach-of |title=Reddit will limit the reach of a pro-Trump board and crack down on its 'most toxic users' | The Salt Lake Tribune |publisher=Sltrib.com |access-date=December 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202131428/http://www.sltrib.com/home/4660231-155/reddit-will-limit-the-reach-of |archive-date=December 2, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Huffman referred to {{proper name|r/The_Donald}}'s users' complaints of harassment "hypocritical" because they had harassed others.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://sfist.com/2016/12/01/reddit_will_crack_down_on_its_most.php |title=Reddit Will Crack Down On Its 'Most Toxic' Trolls; CEO Still Apologizing For Editing Comments |newspaper=SFist |access-date=December 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205181817/http://sfist.com/2016/12/01/reddit_will_crack_down_on_its_most.php |archive-date=February 5, 2017}}</ref>
After the Christchurch mosque shootings in 2019, many posts filled with anti-Muslim hate appeared in the subreddit arguing that the shootings were justified.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-thedonald-cringeanarchy-new-zealand-shooting-mosque-muslims-2019-3 |title=Reddit is allowing a major Trump-supporting community to flourish despite members defending the New Zealand mosque shooter |last=Shamsian |first=Jacob |website=Business Insider |access-date=March 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324111954/https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-thedonald-cringeanarchy-new-zealand-shooting-mosque-muslims-2019-3 |archive-date=March 24, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>
The subreddit was quarantined by Reddit admins in June 2019 for "threats of violence against police and public officials".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/pro-trump-subreddit-threatens-violence/ |title=Pro-Trump subreddit quarantined over violent threats in support of Oregon Republicans |first=Caitlin |last=Davis |date=June 26, 2019 |website=The Daily Dot |access-date=June 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626205335/https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/pro-trump-subreddit-threatens-violence/ |archive-date=June 26, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/reddit-quarantines-pro-trump-subreddit-the_donald-over-anti-police-threats |title=Reddit 'Quarantines' Pro-Trump Forum Over Anti-Police Threats |first=Will |last=Sommer |date=June 26, 2019 |via=www.thedailybeast.com |newspaper=The Daily Beast |access-date=June 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626205807/https://www.thedailybeast.com/reddit-quarantines-pro-trump-subreddit-the_donald-over-anti-police-threats/ |archive-date=June 26, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> On June 29, 2020, Reddit banned the subreddit for frequent rule-breaking, for antagonizing the company and other communities, and for failing to "meet our most basic expectations".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lima |first=Cristiano |date=June 29, 2020 |title=Reddit bans pro-Trump forum in crackdown on hate speech |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/29/reddit-bans-pro-trump-forum-in-crackdown-on-hate-speech-344698 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629173811/https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/29/reddit-bans-pro-trump-forum-in-crackdown-on-hate-speech-344698 |archive-date=June 29, 2020 |access-date=June 29, 2020 |website=Politico}}</ref>
=== TheFappening === {{Further|2014 celebrity nude photo leak}}
In August 2014, Reddit users began sharing a large number of naked pictures of celebrities stolen via phishing from their private Apple iCloud accounts.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/9/1/6092769/creeps |title=Say hello to men who hate NSA spying but blame women for being spied on |last=Sottek |first=T.C. |date=September 1, 2014 |website=The Verge |publisher=Vox Media |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006081104/http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/1/6092769/creeps |archive-date=October 6, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/is-apples-icloud-safe-after-leak-of-jennifer-lawrence-and-other-celebrities-nude-photos-9703142.html |title=Is Apple's iCloud safe after leak of Jennifer Lawrence and other celebrities' nude photos? |last=Vincent |first=James |date=September 1, 2014 |website=The Independent |department=Indy/Life |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006125523/http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/is-apples-icloud-safe-after-leak-of-jennifer-lawrence-and-other-celebrities-nude-photos-9703142.html |archive-date=October 6, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> {{proper name|r/TheFappening}} was created as a hub to share and discuss these stolen photos. Most of the stolen images were posted within the subreddit.<ref name="Kosur">{{cite web |last=Kosur |first=James |date=September 1, 2014 |url=http://www.business2community.com/social-buzz/fappening-broadcast-live-reddit-100000-viewers-0995207 |title=The Fappening Is Being Broadcast Live On Reddit With 100,000+ Viewers |website=Business 2 Community |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006210054/http://www.business2community.com/social-buzz/fappening-broadcast-live-reddit-100000-viewers-0995207#!bOcMup |archive-date=October 6, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Johnston 2014">{{cite web |url=http://www.metro.us/newyork/entertainment/gossip/2014/09/01/fappening-creepy-hackers-release-creepy-celebrity-nudes-creeps/ |title=Security expert weighs in on 'The Fappening' and the iCloud |first=Anthony |last=Johnston |date=October 10, 2014 |website=Metro New York |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006123154/http://www.metro.us/newyork/entertainment/gossip/2014/09/01/fappening-creepy-hackers-release-creepy-celebrity-nudes-creeps/ |archive-date=October 6, 2014}}</ref>
Victims of the scandal (called "CelebGate" by the media)<ref name="BBC Celebgate">{{cite news |title=Celebgate hack: Collins sentenced over nude photos theft |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-37796986 |work=BBC News |date=28 October 2016 |archive-date=December 16, 2018 |access-date=December 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216210940/https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-37796986 |url-status=live }}</ref> included Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and other high-profile individuals.<ref name="Hunt begins">{{cite news |author=<!-- Staff writer, no byline --> |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/celebrity/hunt-begins-for-hacker-behind-jennifer-lawrence-nude-photo-theft-20140902-10b7vc.html |title=Hunt begins for hacker behind Jennifer Lawrence nude photo theft |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=2 September 2014 |url-access=limited |archive-date=December 30, 2021 |access-date=December 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211230042726/https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/celebrity/hunt-begins-for-hacker-behind-jennifer-lawrence-nude-photo-theft-20140902-10b7vc.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/jennifer-lawrence-nude-photos-leaked-hacker-posts-explicit-pics/story-fn907478-1227043406704?sv=306536ca258a2e18616921c12eb4e2eb |title=Jennifer Lawrence nude photos leaked: Hacker posts explicit pics |website=News.com.au |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006131634/http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/jennifer-lawrence-nude-photos-leaked-hacker-posts-explicit-pics/story-fn907478-1227043406704?sv=306536ca258a2e18616921c12eb4e2eb |archive-date=October 6, 2014 |date=September 2014}}</ref> Several leaked photos of Liz Lee and McKayla Maroney may have been taken when the women were underage, which would constitute child pornography, though this remains controversial.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Price |first1=Rob |title=There's child porn in the massive celebrity nudes hack |url=http://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-fappening-celebgate-mckayla-liz-lee-child-porn/?fbdd |website=The Daily Dot |date=September 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904153059/http://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-fappening-celebgate-mckayla-liz-lee-child-porn/?fbdd |archive-date=September 4, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Reddit administrators closed the subreddit in September 2014. The scandal led to wider criticisms from ''The Verge'' and ''The Daily Dot'' concerning the website's moderation.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/9/8/6121363/reddit-is-a-failed-state |title=Reddit is a failed state |last=Sottek |first=T.C. |date=September 8, 2014 |website=The Verge |publisher=Vox Media |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104224406/http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/8/6121363/reddit-is-a-failed-state |archive-date=November 4, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Sankin |first1=Aaron |title=Is Reddit broken beyond repair? |url=http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue-sections/staff-editorials/10749/reddit-broken-beyond-repair/ |website=The Daily Dot |date=November 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103024118/http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue-sections/staff-editorials/10749/reddit-broken-beyond-repair/ |archive-date=November 3, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>
=== TruFemcels ===
In January 2021, Reddit banned {{proper name|r/TruFemcels}}, a subreddit for female incels ("femcels"), for promoting hate.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Alexandra |title=The rise of femcels — meet the women who refuse to have sex |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/insider/what-are-femcels-female-involuntary-celibates-b987250.html |date=10 March 2022 |access-date=21 March 2022 |website=Evening Standard |archive-date=March 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319102015/https://www.standard.co.uk/insider/what-are-femcels-female-involuntary-celibates-b987250.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Critics accused the sub of lookism, racism, transphobia, spreading alt-right conspiracy theories, and using incel terminology. After the ban, the community migrated to a dedicated website, ThePinkPill.co.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 29, 2021 |title=Inside the online 'safe space' for female incels |url=https://www.huckmag.com/art-and-culture/tech/inside-the-online-safe-space-for-femcels/ |access-date=August 16, 2021 |website=Huck Magazine |archive-date=August 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816105024/https://www.huckmag.com/art-and-culture/tech/inside-the-online-safe-space-for-femcels/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== TumblrInAction ===
In June 2022, Reddit banned {{proper name|r/TumblrInAction}} (TiA) for promoting hate. TiA was an anti-gender movement subreddit created to mock Tumblr "gender ideology" and "social justice warriors (SJWs)". At the time, the subreddit had over 470,000 members, including some who joined after {{proper name|r/GenderCritical}} was banned. {{proper name|r/SocialJusticeInAction}}, a sister subreddit to TumblrInAction, was also banned.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}
Months prior, in December 2021, ''Slate'' had referred to TumblrInAction as "a breeding ground for online hate...[linked] to Gamergate and all sorts of online harassment tactics".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Frank |first1=Allegra |last2=Hampton |first2=Rachelle |title=The Subreddits That Ruined the Internet |url=https://slate.com/podcasts/icymi/2021/12/subreddit-tumblrinaction-breeding-ground-online-harassment |website=Slate Magazine |date=December 2021 |access-date=2 July 2023 |archive-date=July 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707155132/https://slate.com/podcasts/icymi/2021/12/subreddit-tumblrinaction-breeding-ground-online-harassment |url-status=live }}</ref>
===UncensoredNews===
{{proper name|r/UncensoredNews}} was a far-right subreddit that claimed to be the "free speech" alternative to the more popular news-related subs. Founded by users who moderated several white nationalist subreddits before June 2016, it saw a massive increase in subscribers following the Orlando nightclub shooting, as the moderators of {{proper name|r/news}} were accused of censoring the name, religion, and motive of perpetrator Omar Mateen.<ref name="fivethreeeight"/><ref>{{cite web|last=Collins|first=Ben|title=Reddit Turns to 'The Donald' for News—In Record Numbers|website=The Daily Beast|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/reddit-turns-to-the-donald-for-newsin-record-numbers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626182926/https://www.thedailybeast.com/reddit-turns-to-the-donald-for-newsin-record-numbers |archive-date= June 26, 2022|date=June 13, 2016|access-date=September 4, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{proper name|r/UncensoredNews}} primarily promoted stories about crimes committed by minorities or left-wing people, such as attacks on white farmers in South Africa. Their stories often had a xenophobic, Islamophobic, and racist bent. For example, a post stickied by one of the sub's moderators was titled "Here at uncensored news we love racism, bigotry, misogyny, hatred, xenophobia, transphobia, homo phobia [''sic''] etc." while another user compared miscegenation to bestiality.<ref name="vice-subs" /><ref>{{cite web|last=Squirrell |first=Tim |title=Linguistic data analysis of 3 billion Reddit comments shows the alt-right is getting stronger |website=Quartz |url=https://qz.com/1056319/what-is-the-alt-right-a-linguistic-data-analysis-of-3-billion-reddit-comments-shows-a-disparate-group-that-is-quickly-uniting/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708222813/https://qz.com/1056319/what-is-the-alt-right-a-linguistic-data-analysis-of-3-billion-reddit-comments-shows-a-disparate-group-that-is-quickly-uniting/ |archive-date= July 8, 2022|date=August 18, 2017 |access-date=September 4, 2022|url-status=live|quote=Elsewhere, they can be seen on /r/uncensorednews (primarily news about bad things perpetrated by members of minority groups and left-wing people), and /r/conspiracy.}}</ref><ref name="albawaba" />
{{proper name|r/UncensoredNews}} and its moderators were banned on March 12, 2018 for inciting violence, possibly in response to a thread where users debated whether Jews or Muslims were more dangerous.<ref name="albawaba" />
== Active subreddits == Active subreddits refer to subreddits that have been, or are presently, contentious yet not removed.
=== Antiwork === {{main|r/antiwork}}
The subreddit {{proper name|r/antiwork}} was established in 2013.<ref name=Codrea-Rado>{{cite web|last=Codrea-Rado|first=Anna|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/inside-the-online-movement-to-end-work-antiwork-sub-reddit/|title=Inside the Online Movement to End Work|work=Vice|date=2021-12-22|access-date=2022-01-28|archive-date=December 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222194619/https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3vwjw/inside-the-online-movement-to-end-work-antiwork-sub-reddit|url-status=live}}</ref> The subreddit was intended for supporters of a society in which people did not have to work at all, or at least had a much smaller obligation to work, according to a longtime moderator. During the COVID-19 pandemic, new posters who were unhappy with working conditions joined.<ref name=DaroAntiwork>{{cite web|last=Daro|first=Ishmael N.|url=https://slate.com/technology/2021/11/reddit-antiwork-sub-viral-job-resignations.html|title=The Real Point of Reddit's Antiwork Sub|work=Slate|date=2021-11-18|access-date=2022-01-28|archive-date=November 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118215218/https://slate.com/technology/2021/11/reddit-antiwork-sub-viral-job-resignations.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2019, the number of subscribers was 13,000,<ref name=Codrea-Rado/> which increased to 100,000 in early 2020.<ref name=DaroAntiwork/> The subreddit's popularity rose after people began posting text messages of employees giving notice to their employers that they no longer wanted their jobs.<ref name=Codrea-Rado/> In November 2021, the subscriber number exceeded one million.<ref name=DaroAntiwork/> By December 2021, that number had grown to 1.4 million,<ref name=Codrea-Rado/> and in January 2022, it had reached over 1.7 million. On 26 January, {{proper name|r/antiwork}} was the subreddit with the highest increase of traffic that was not one of Reddit's "default" front page subreddits.<ref name=OConnellFlynnAntiwork>{{cite web|last1=O'Connell|first1=Oliver|last2=Flynn|first2=Sheila|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/anti-work-reddit-abolishwork-fired-b2002606.html|title=Moderator fired from anti-work subreddit after disastrous Fox News interview|newspaper=The Independent|date=2022-01-28|access-date=2022-01-28|archive-date=February 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205151755/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/anti-work-reddit-abolishwork-fired-b2002606.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
In January 2022, a longtime r/antiwork moderator agreed to be interviewed by Fox News host Jesse Watters, whom ''The Independent'' described as "openly contemptuous about the [anti-work] movement".<ref name=OConnellFlynnAntiwork/> Members of the subreddit criticized the moderator, and the other moderators in turn temporarily made the subreddit private.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ballentine|first=Claire|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-27/how-fox-news-interview-led-to-antiwork-subreddit-chaos-and-boosted-workreform|title=How a Fox News Interview Threw the Antiwork Subreddit Into Chaos|work=Bloomberg News|date=2022-01-27|access-date=2022-01-28|archive-date=January 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127192541/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-27/how-fox-news-interview-led-to-antiwork-subreddit-chaos-and-boosted-workreform|url-status=live}}</ref> Ultimately, the interviewee was asked to give up her moderation duties. Noah Berlatsky, writing for ''The Independent'', stated that the Fox News segment became "a publicity disaster for r/antiwork", and that {{proper name|r/antiwork}} became "widely ridiculed".<ref name=Berlatskyantiwork>{{cite web|last=Berlatsky|first=Noah|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/antiwork-reddit-jesse-watters-fox-news-b2002875.html|title=What everyone's still missing in the antiwork subreddit drama|newspaper=The Independent|date=2022-01-28|access-date=2022-01-28|archive-date=February 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205071817/https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/antiwork-reddit-jesse-watters-fox-news-b2002875.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
Following this "publicity disaster", a similar subreddit called {{proper name|r/workreform}} was formed around similar ideas and content as {{proper name|r/antiwork}}.
=== aznidentity and AsianMasculinity ===
{{proper name|r/aznidentity}} and {{proper name|r/AsianMasculinity}} are communities targeted towards members of the Asian diaspora, in particular Asian-American men. They discuss various topics related to lifestyle, dating, fitness, and world events from the perspective of the Asian diaspora.
Several articles have focused on the subreddits having had a strong presence of members from the "Men's Rights Asians" community, or "MRAsians" (a pun on "men's rights activists"). Many members are said to blame Asian-American women for the emasculation of Asian men in American culture and believe they uphold white supremacy if they date white men.<ref name="SlateMRAsian">{{cite web|first1=Aaron|last1=Mak|access-date=2022-03-23|title='Men's Rights Asians' Think This Is Their Moment|url=https://slate.com/technology/2021/09/mens-rights-asians-aznidentity-stop-asian-hate-reddit.html|date=15 September 2021|website=Slate|archive-date=August 16, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240816102008/https://slate.com/technology/2021/09/mens-rights-asians-aznidentity-stop-asian-hate-reddit.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Ng |first1=Celeste |title=When Asian Women Are Harassed for Marrying Non-Asian Men |url=https://www.thecut.com/2018/10/when-asian-women-are-harassed-for-marrying-non-asian-men.html |website=The Cut |date=October 12, 2018 |access-date=28 July 2024 |archive-date=October 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181012143308/https://www.thecut.com/2018/10/when-asian-women-are-harassed-for-marrying-non-asian-men.html |url-status=live }}</ref> However, it has been stated that support for interracial relationships between Asian men and White women was common within those subreddits.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2024-07-28|title=Opinion – Why the Men's Rights Asians subculture is so toxic – and dangerous|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/reddit-instagram-backlash-highlights-asian-masculinity-movement-s-toxic-rise-ncna1288150|website=NBC News|date=January 28, 2022|archive-date= 2022-01-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130025738/https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/reddit-instagram-backlash-highlights-asian-masculinity-movement-s-toxic-rise-ncna1288150|url-status=live}}</ref> A 2021 article in ''Slate'' reported that some members on {{proper name|r/aznidentity}} claimed anti-Asian racism was disproportionately committed by Black people and gets little attention, and that increased attention towards anti-Black racism in recent years had been responsible for a lack of attention towards anti-Asian racism.<ref name="SlateMRAsian" />
=== BlackPeopleTwitter ===
On April 1, 2019, {{proper name|r/BlackPeopleTwitter}} began requiring users to prove they were Black—by sending a photo with their forearm and their Reddit username—before allowing them to post comments. The moderators described this action as an April Fools' Day prank, albeit one with a "very real reason".<ref name="BlackPeopleTwitter">{{cite web |date=April 3, 2019 |title=/r/BlackPeopleTwitter is open to everyone again |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/BlackPeopleTwitter/comments/b93w1j/rblackpeopletwitter_is_open_to_everyone_again/ |access-date=May 7, 2021 |website=/r/BlackPeopleTwitter |archive-date=March 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311082646/https://www.reddit.com/r/BlackPeopleTwitter/comments/b93w1j/rblackpeopletwitter_is_open_to_everyone_again/ |url-status=live }}</ref><!-- Reddit used as primary source for moderators' statement --> The April Fools' prank lasted only a few days, but the moderators now limit some contentious threads to a "country club" consisting of verified people of color and white people who complete an application process that includes writing "about what white privilege means to them". Additionally, verified Black commenters (but not other people of color) receive a check mark next to their username.<ref name="Harmon Oct 2019">{{Cite news |last=Harmon |first=Amy |date=October 8, 2019 |title=Discussing Blackness on Reddit? Photograph Your Forearm First |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/08/us/reddit-race-black-people-twitter.html |access-date=May 8, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |url-access=limited |archive-date=May 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509062119/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/08/us/reddit-race-black-people-twitter.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Harmon Nov 2019">{{cite news |title=Prove You're Not White: For an Article About Race-Verification on Reddit, I Had an Unusual Request |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/08/reader-center/08insider-reddit-race-black-people-twitter-reporting.html |work=The New York Times |last1=Harmon |first1=Amy |date=November 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191009014624/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/08/reader-center/08insider-reddit-race-black-people-twitter-reporting.html |archive-date=October 9, 2019 |url-status=live |url-access=limited}}</ref> Like its sister subreddit, r/WhitePeopleTwitter, it mainly sources their posts from a specific racial group, which unlike its sister subreddit, r/WhitePeopleTwitter, involves specifically black people's posts.
=== FemaleDatingStrategy ===
{{proper name|r/FemaleDatingStrategy}} (FDS) was created in 2019.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Cunningham |first=Katie |date=7 August 2021 |title='Sales funnels' and high-value men: the rise of strategic dating |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/aug/08/sales-funnels-and-high-value-men-the-rise-of-strategic-dating |access-date=12 May 2022}}</ref> It has been accused by {{proper name|r/AgainstHateSubreddits}} of promoting homophobia, transphobia, misandry, and discrimination against sex workers. ''The Verge'' described the advice given to women in the sub as socially conservative, sexually conservative, and oppressive to women. FDS posters must follow strict rules to avoid being banned, with support for consensual BDSM, pornography consumption, or casual sex being bannable offenses.<ref name="Taylor 2020">{{Cite web |date=February 14, 2020 |last=Taylor |first=Erin |url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/14/21137852/reddit-female-dating-advice-strategy-women-rulebook-memes |url-status=live |access-date=February 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217083801/https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/14/21137852/reddit-female-dating-advice-strategy-women-rulebook-memes |archive-date=February 17, 2020 |title=Reddit's Female Dating Strategy offers women advice—and a strict rulebook for how to act |work=The Verge |language=en }}</ref> As of August 2021, FDS had about 179,000 members who were described as mostly heterosexual women.<ref name=":0" />
The group has a strict hierarchy, with moderators called "Ruthless Strategists" on top. Community is prioritized over the individual, and members are advised against speaking with journalists, practices which have been described as cult-like.<ref name="Holden 2020">{{cite web |date=December 9, 2020 |last=Holden |first=Madeleine |url=https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/female-dating-strategy-reddit |url-status=live |access-date=August 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201209164418/https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/female-dating-strategy-reddit |archive-date=December 9, 2020 |title=In Reddit's 'Female Dating Strategy', Women level up and make men the prey |work=MEL |language=en }}</ref> The subreddit advises against dating men with mental illnesses, and has banned members for believing men can be victims of sexual assault. The members oppose liberal feminism, or "libfems",<ref name="Holden 2020" /><ref name=":0" /> and endorse TERF-like views; transgender women are prohibited from posting. The sub has also been criticized for contradictory advice, such as encouraging independence from men while expecting them to pay for dates and be the primary breadwinners.<ref name="Sisley 2021" />
Critics have compared {{proper name|r/FemaleDatingStrategy}} to the manosphere subreddits it was created to oppose.<ref name="Sisley 2021">{{cite web |date=March 10, 2021 |last=Sisley |first=Dominique |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/female-dating-strategy-relationship-advice/ |url-status=live |access-date=August 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310090813/https://www.vice.com/en/article/akdm4a/female-dating-strategy-relationship-advice |archive-date=March 10, 2021 |title=Brutal Relationship Advice for Women from the Internet's Most Ruthless Dating Site |work=Vice |language=en }}</ref> Quoted in a 2022 ''Guardian'' article, a co-host for FDS's podcast said: "[FDS] isn't about trying to manipulate men into trying to behave a certain way ... it's more about finding a man who is comfortable with you having boundaries and standards, and who understands how to treat a woman."<ref name=":0" />
The subreddit historically made extensive use of female-incel ("femcel") language, but when the femcel jargon interfered with the recruitment of new members, users gradually adopted new terminology. It includes terms like "scrotes" for men and "pickmeisha" for women, who FDS claims degrade themselves for men. "Pickmeisha" has been used to label members that criticize the moderators or claim to enjoy banned behavior such as casual sex,<ref name="Holden 2020" /> and it has been targeted at women in other subreddits for issues such as seeking advice on their partner's erectile dysfunction.<ref name="Taylor 2020" />
=== GenZedong ===
''Time'' identified r/GenZedong, a self-described "Dengist" subreddit focused on China, as a haven for denial of oppression against Uyghurs.<ref name="time2022"/><ref name="time20220304"/>
In 2022, the hacker group Anonymous hacked a server hosting Chinese government websites. The group uploaded a meme mocking r/GenZedong on a government site promoting tourism in China.<ref>{{cite news |last=Everington |first=Keoni |title=Round 3 of Anonymous hack of China site uses image of Taiwan president |access-date=April 3, 2022 |url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4305341 |date=October 4, 2021 |website=Taiwan News |quote=Another meme pokes fun at the Marxist-Leninist subreddit Genzedong and the vexed reaction of members to the hack. |archive-date=December 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221223065720/https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4305341 |url-status=live }}</ref>
The subreddit was quarantined on 23 March 2022 for spreading disinformation about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. At the time of its quarantine, the subreddit had over 57,000 subscribers.<ref name="time20220304" />
=== HermanCainAward === {{main|Herman Cain Award}}
{{proper name|r/HermanCainAward}} awards the "Herman Cain Freedom Award" to people who "made public declaration of their anti-mask, anti-vax, or COVID-hoax views", but were later infected with COVID-19 and were hospitalized or died from it.<ref name="Loofbourow 2021">{{Cite web |last=Loofbourow |first=Lili |date=September 21, 2021 |title=The Unbelievable Grimness of HermanCainAward, the Subreddit That Catalogs Anti-Vaxxer COVID Deaths |url=https://slate.com/technology/2021/09/hermancainaward-subreddit-antivaxxer-deaths-cataloged.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921190634/https://slate.com/technology/2021/09/hermancainaward-subreddit-antivaxxer-deaths-celebrated.html |url-status=live |archive-date=September 21, 2021 |website=Slate}}</ref><ref name="West 2021">{{Cite web |last=West |first=Phil |date=September 8, 2021 |title='He was so dumb': Redditors from HermanCainAward sub called out for 'doxing, harassing' families of deceased COVID patients |url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/hermancainaward-redditors-doxing-harassing-covid-patients/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908145323/https://www.dailydot.com/debug/hermancainaward-redditors-doxing-harassing-covid-patients/ |archive-date=September 8, 2021 |website=The Daily Dot}}</ref><ref name="Barth 2021">{{Cite web |last=Barth |first=F. Diane |date=October 2, 2021 |title=The bleak psychology behind Reddit's viral 'award' celebrating Covid deaths |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/reddit-s-herman-cain-covid-award-depressing-sign-our-times-ncna1280616 |url-status=live |access-date=October 3, 2021 |website=NBC News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211002100627/https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/reddit-s-herman-cain-covid-award-depressing-sign-our-times-ncna1280616 |archive-date=October 2, 2021 }}</ref><ref name="Deccan Herald">{{Cite web |date=2021-10-01 |title=This Reddit forum has been mocking unvaccinated people who die of Covid-19 |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/specials/this-reddit-forum-has-been-mocking-unvaccinated-people-who-die-of-covid-19-1036037.html |url-status=live |access-date=2021-10-28 |website=Deccan Herald|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211001045415/https://www.deccanherald.com/specials/this-reddit-forum-has-been-mocking-unvaccinated-people-who-die-of-covid-19-1036037.html |archive-date=October 1, 2021 }}</ref>
According to {{lang|fr|Le Monde}}, "In its early days, HCA was primarily fueled by articles found in the press, [but] in recent months, the examples have been drawn directly from a Facebook page of COVID-19 victims. Publication after publication, the pattern invariably repeats itself: one person (anonymized to respect Reddit rules) says all the bad things they think about vaccines, masks, or sometimes even doubts the existence of the pandemic. Often the memes (humorous diversions) used to illustrate mistrust of the vaccine are the same. The following screenshot tells us that the person has just fallen ill, and sometimes that the illness does not really give them a break. Calls to pray for help may follow, before a loved one finally announces the death."<ref name="Brandy 2021">{{Cite news |last=Brandy |first=Grégor |date=2021-10-14 |title=Sur Internet, la traque des personnes opposées au vaccin qui sont mortes du Covid-19 |language=fr |work=Le Monde |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/pixels/article/2021/10/14/des-internautes-americains-epinglent-les-antivaccins-morts-du-covid-19_6098413_4408996.html |access-date=2021-11-07 |archive-date=June 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619032419/https://www.lemonde.fr/pixels/article/2021/10/14/des-internautes-americains-epinglent-les-antivaccins-morts-du-covid-19_6098413_4408996.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
F. Diane Bart, a psychotherapist writing for NBC News, described the subreddit as "a dark and sardonic corner of the internet" that "captures the rage and outrage of presumably vaccinated, mask-wearing individuals, many of whom have either been infected with COVID-19 in the past or have watched friends and family become ill—and even die."<ref name="Barth 2021" />
=== KotakuInAction ===
{{proper name|r/KotakuInAction}} was one of the main online hubs for participants in the misogynistic harassment campaign known as Gamergate.<ref name="Peckford">{{cite journal |last=Peckford |first=Ashley |title=Right Wing Extremism in a Video Game Community? A Qualitative Content Analysis Exploring the Discourse of the Reddit GamerGate Community r/KotakuInAction. |journal=A Closer Look in Unusual Times: Criminological Perspectives from Crim 862 |date=2020 |pages=65–81 |url=https://www.sfu.ca/~palys/ACloserLookInUnusualTimes-2020-HR.pdf#page=71 |archive-date=June 26, 2021 |access-date=May 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210626204609/https://www.sfu.ca/~palys/ACloserLookInUnusualTimes-2020-HR.pdf#page=71 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Binder 2018">{{cite web |last1=Binder |first1=Matt |title=It's Reddit's turn: The 'front page of the internet' should be next to face Congress |url=https://mashable.com/article/reddit-case-for-congressional-hearings/ |website=Mashable |date=September 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190312232538/https://mashable.com/article/reddit-case-for-congressional-hearings/ |archive-date=March 12, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Massanari 2018">{{cite journal |first1=Adrienne L. |last1=Massanari |first2=Shira |last2=Chess |title=Attack of the 50-foot social justice warrior: the discursive construction of SJW memes as the monstrous feminine |journal=Feminist Media Studies |date=July 4, 2018 |issn=1468-0777 |pages=525–542 |volume=18 |issue=4 |doi=10.1080/14680777.2018.1447333 |s2cid=149070172}}</ref> When users join r/KotakuInAction, they are warned that they will be banned from other subreddits, including {{proper name|r/OffMyChest}} (where users express opinions and share personal thoughts); {{proper name|r/NaturalHair}}; and {{proper name|r/Rape}} (a support forum for rape survivors that was brigaded by {{proper name|r/KotakuInAction}} users).<ref name="Dale 2015">{{cite web |last1=Dale |first1=Brady |title=Posting on GamerGate's Subreddit Gets Users Automatically Banned on Others |url=http://observer.com/2015/10/posting-on-gamergates-subreddit-automatically-get-users-banned-on-others/ |work=Observer |date=October 30, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160124113111/https://observer.com/2015/10/posting-on-gamergates-subreddit-automatically-get-users-banned-on-others/ |archive-date= 2016-01-24 |url-status=live}}</ref>
''BuzzFeed''{{'}}s Joseph Bernstein reported that many of r/KotakuInAction's moderators also moderate other subreddits "devoted to either the physical and emotional degradation and humiliation of women, or in subreddits devoted to mocking and delegitimizing the arguments and appearances of feminists and 'social justice warriors{{'"}}.<ref name="Bernstein 2014">{{cite web |last=Bernstein |first=Joseph |title=The Disturbing Misogynist History Of GamerGate's Goodwill Ambassadors |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/josephbernstein/the-disturbing-misogynist-history-of-gamergates-g |work=Buzzfeed News |date=October 30, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920120618/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/josephbernstein/the-disturbing-misogynist-history-of-gamergates-g |archive-date=September 20, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2016, three scholars from the Georgia Institute of Technology wrote an academic paper analyzing r/KotakuInAction and "the border between controversial speech and harassment".<ref name="Jhaver 2018">{{cite journal |last1=Jhaver |first1=Shagun |last2=Chan |first2=Larry |last3=Bruckman |first3=Amy |title=The view from the other side: The border between controversial speech and harassment on Kotaku in Action |journal=First Monday |volume=23 |issue=2 |doi=10.5210/fm.v23i2.8232 |date=February 5, 2018 |arxiv=1712.05851 |s2cid=3653593 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
On July 12, 2018, r/KotakuInAction's creator and head moderator removed all of the sub's other moderators and set the forum to private, alleging that the sub had become "infested with racism and sexism". A Reddit employee restored the forum and its moderators an hour later.<ref name="Knoop 2018">{{cite web |last=Knoop |first=Joseph |title=Reddit brought back a Gamergate forum after its creator tried to destroy it |url=https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/reddit-kotakuinaction/ |work=The Daily Dot |date=July 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714180309/https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/reddit-kotakuinaction/ |archive-date= 2018-07-14 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Cole 2018">{{cite web |last=Cole |first=Samantha |title=The Creator of the Largest Gamergate Subreddit Rage Quits, Says it's 'Infested With Racism and Sexism' |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/gamergate-subreddit-kotaku-in-action-shut-down-by-creator/ |department=Motherboard |website=Vice |date=July 13, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713155912/https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/43pv3g/gamergate-subreddit-kotaku-in-action-shut-down-by-creator |archive-date= 2018-07-13 |url-status=live}}</ref>
A 2020 review analyzing ten discussion boards on r/KotakuInAction suggested a connection between Gamergate and right-wing extremism (RWE). According to the review, the three main themes in these discussion boards were "RWE bigotry", "always anti-left" and "hate speech is free speech".<ref name="Peckford"/>
=== MensRights === {{Further|Men's rights movement}}
The antifeminist{{sfnp|Cousineau|2021|pp=133–134}}<ref name="LaViolette 2019">{{cite journal |last1=LaViolette |first1=Jack |last2=Hogan |first2=Bernie |title=Using Platform Signals for Distinguishing Discourses: The Case of Men's Rights and Men's Liberation on Reddit |journal=Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media |date=2019 |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=323–334 |doi=10.1609/icwsm.v13i01.3357 |s2cid=189818861 |url=https://ojs.aaai.org/index.php/ICWSM/article/view/3357 |issn=2334-0770 |doi-access=free |archive-date=December 31, 2021 |access-date=January 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231231501/https://ojs.aaai.org/index.php/ICWSM/article/view/3357 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|323}} subreddit {{proper name|r/MensRights}} was created in 2008. It had over 300,000 members {{As of |2021 |April |lc=yes}}.{{sfnp|Cousineau|2021|pp=133–134}}
Media studies researcher Debbie Ging described the "extreme misogyny and proclivity for personal attacks" of several men's rights subreddits, including {{proper name|r/MensRights}}, as "the most striking features of the new antifeminist politics".{{r|Ging 2019}}{{rp|645–6}}
==== SPLC listing ====
In the spring 2012 issue of the Southern Poverty Law Center's (SPLC) ''Intelligence Report'' (titled "The Year in Hate and Extremism"), {{proper name|r/MensRights}} was included in a section called "Misogyny: The Sites" along with 11 other websites. The SPLC reported that "although some of the sites make an attempt at civility and try to back their arguments with facts, they are almost all thick with misogynistic attacks that can be astounding for the guttural hatred they express".<ref name="SPLC 2012">{{cite journal |url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2012/misogyny-sites |title=Misogyny: The Sites |journal=Intelligence Report |date=Spring 2012 |issue=145 |publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center}}</ref> Using a moderator's statements as an example, the SPLC feature charged that {{proper name|r/MensRights}} in particular "trafficks in various conspiracy theories" and shows anger "toward any program designed to help women".<ref name="Collier 2012">{{cite news |url=http://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-mensrights-misogynistic-splc/ |title=Southern Poverty Law Center calls Reddit section misogynistic |last=Collier |first=Kevin |work=The Daily Dot |date=March 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016222155/http://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-mensrights-misogynistic-splc/ |archive-date=October 16, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
In a March 2012 interview, the issue's editor, Mark Potok, noted that while the SPLC "wrote about the subreddit Mens Rights ... we did not list it as a hate group" and probably never would. He added: "it's a diverse group, which certainly does include some misogynists—but I don't think that's [its basic] purpose".<ref name="Morris 2012">{{cite news |url=http://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-mens-rights-hate-group-splc/ |title=Why Reddit's r/MensRights is not a hate group |last=Morris |first=Kevin |work=The Daily Dot |date=March 28, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007160402/http://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-mens-rights-hate-group-splc/ |archive-date=October 7, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Later that year, the SPLC noted that the report "provoked a tremendous response among men's rights activists (MRAs) and their sympathizers".<ref name="Goldwag 2012" /> They added: "it should be mentioned that the SPLC did not label MRAs as members of a hate movement; nor did our article claim that the grievances they air on their websites – false rape accusations, ruinous divorce settlements and the like – are all without merit. But we did call out specific examples of misogyny and the threat, overt or implicit, of violence."<ref name="Goldwag 2012">{{cite web |url=http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2012/05/15/intelligence-report-article-provokes-outrage-among-mens-rights-activists/ |title=Intelligence Report Article Provokes Fury Among Men's Rights Activists |last=Goldwag |first=Arthur |publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center |date=May 15, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724125534/http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2012/05/15/intelligence-report-article-provokes-outrage-among-mens-rights-activists/ |archive-date=July 24, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
==== Doxing incident ====
In April 2013, Reddit administrators threatened to shut down r/MensRights after subscribers gathered personal information on the purported author of a blog about feminist issues. The subreddit's moderators advised users on how to dox the blogger without running afoul of site rules.<ref name="Romano 2013">{{cite news |url=http://www.dailydot.com/crime/arianna-pattek-conspiracy-mra-mens-rights-reddit/ |title=Men's rights activists bombard feminist with death threats—and it's the wrong woman |last=Romano |first=Aja |work=The Daily Dot |date=April 22, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202171231/http://www.dailydot.com/crime/arianna-pattek-conspiracy-mra-mens-rights-reddit/ |archive-date=February 2, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> In fact, the sub's users had identified the wrong woman, who subsequently received numerous death threats at her school and workplace. After Georgetown University received threatening messages, it confirmed that the woman named in the threats was not the blog's author.<ref name="Romano 2013"/>
==== Rape report spam ====
In mid-December 2013, users from {{proper name|r/MensRights}} and 4chan spammed the Occidental College Online Rape Report Form with hundreds of false rape reports. A user had recently complained that because the form could be submitted anonymously, it was vulnerable to abuse.<ref name="Culp-Ressler 2014">{{cite web |last=Culp-Ressler |first=Tara |title='Men's Rights' Groups Are Spamming Occidental College With Hundreds Of False Rape Reports |url=http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/12/20/3093761/mens-rights-occidental/ |website=ThinkProgress |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226064402/http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/12/20/3093761/mens-rights-occidental/ |archive-date=February 26, 2014 }}</ref><ref name="Kingkade 2013">{{cite news |last=Kingkade |first=Tyler |title='Men's Rights' Trolls Spam Occidental College Online Rape Report Form |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/18/mens-rights-occidental-rape-reports_n_4468236.html |work=The Huffington Post |date=December 18, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131222092730/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/18/mens-rights-occidental-rape-reports_n_4468236.html |archive-date=December 22, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> Men's rights activists made around 400 false rape accusations against members of the college, feminists, and fictional people.<ref name="Culp-Ressler 2014"/>
=== NoFap === {{main|NoFap}}
{{proper name|r/NoFap}} is a subreddit dedicated to supporting those who wish to give up pornography or masturbation.
Some journalists have described NoFap's forums as filled with misogyny: "there is a darker side to NoFap. Among the reams of Reddit discussions and YouTube videos, a 'fundamentally misogynistic rhetoric' regularly emerges".<ref name="Bishop 2019">{{cite news |last1=Bishop |first1=Kate |date=September 9, 2019 |title=What's causing women to join the NoFap movement? |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/sep/09/whats-causing-women-to-join-the-nofap-movement |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190909061616/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/sep/09/whats-causing-women-to-join-the-nofap-movement |archive-date=September 9, 2019}}</ref>
According to critics, r/NoFap idolizes testosterone and inherently masculine qualities, and "the NoFap community has become linked to wider sexism and misogyny, reducing women to sexual objects to be attained or abstained from, and shaming sexually active women".<ref name="Manavis 2018">{{cite magazine |last1=Manavis |first1=Sarah |date=November 13, 2018 |title=No Nut November: the insidious internet challenge encouraging men not to masturbate |magazine=The New Statesman |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/social-media/2018/11/no-nut-november-insidious-internet-challenge-encouraging-men-not |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113223221/https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/social-media/2018/11/no-nut-november-insidious-internet-challenge-encouraging-men-not |archive-date=November 13, 2018 |url-access=limited}}</ref>
=== Piracy and PiratedGames ===
In 2019, Reddit threatened to ban {{proper name|r/piracy}} after receiving dozens of DMCA takedown notices. The moderators responded that Reddit did not investigate the infringement claims to find if they actually infringed copyright law. Often, they argued, users had actually been sharing URLs for streaming sites, asking if such sites were working, and posting guides about installing programs. Ultimately r/Piracy's users voted to delete all content older than six months, as it was not feasible to investigate all past content.<ref name="Kobie 2019">{{cite news |last=Kobie |first=Nicole |date=14 April 2019 |title=First it was football streams, now Reddit is going after r/piracy |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/reddit-piracy-streams |access-date=July 22, 2021 |magazine=Wired UK |archive-date=July 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210722161031/https://www.wired.co.uk/article/reddit-piracy-streams |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Gault 2019">{{cite news |last=Gault |first=Matthew |date=8 April 2019 |title=Reddit's Piracy Subreddit Is Purging a Decade of Posts |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/reddits-piracy-subreddit-is-purging-a-decade-of-posts/ |access-date=July 22, 2021 |work=Vice |archive-date=August 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240811065410/https://www.vice.com/en/article/reddits-piracy-subreddit-is-purging-a-decade-of-posts/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
On August 17, 2022, Reddit banned {{proper name|r/PiratedGames}}, which focused specifically on pirated video games and was among the largest piracy-related subreddits with over 300,000 subscribers. Though the subreddit explicitly prohibited sharing pirated content, it was banned for excessive DMCA claims. Following an appeal from the moderators, it was restored the next day.<ref name="TorrentFreak">{{cite news |last=Van der Sar |first=Ernesto |date=18 August 2022 |title=Reddit Bans '/r/PiratedGames' for Excessive Copyright Claims (Updated) |url=https://torrentfreak.com/reddit-bans-r-piratedgames-for-excessive-copyright-claims-220818/ |access-date=23 August 2022 |work=TorrentFreak |archive-date=August 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822214424/https://torrentfreak.com/reddit-bans-r-piratedgames-for-excessive-copyright-claims-220818/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In several articles, ''TorrentFreak'' said the ban was part of Reddit's increasing crackdown on copyright infringement, noting that the year prior around 2,625 subreddits had been banned for similar reasons, and that DMCA takedowns on Reddit had increased by over 15,000% in the past five years.<ref name="TorrentFreak"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Maxwell |first=Andy |date=23 February 2022 |title=Reddit Banned 2,625 Subreddits For Excessive Copyright Infringement in 2021 |url=https://torrentfreak.com/reddit-banned-2625-subreddits-for-excessive-copyright-infringement-in-2021-220223/ |access-date=23 August 2022 |work=TorrentFreak |archive-date=August 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220823060150/https://torrentfreak.com/reddit-banned-2625-subreddits-for-excessive-copyright-infringement-in-2021-220223/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Van der Sar |first=Ernesto |date=21 August 2022 |title=Reddit's DMCA Removals Surged 15,000% in Five Years |url=https://torrentfreak.com/reddits-dmca-removals-surged-15000-in-five-years-220821/ |access-date=23 August 2022 |work=TorrentFreak |archive-date=August 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220823060149/https://torrentfreak.com/reddits-dmca-removals-surged-15000-in-five-years-220821/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Russia ===
On March 1, 2022, Reddit administrators quarantined Russia's national subreddit, r/Russia, and removed one of its moderators for spreading "disinformation about the Russian invasion of Ukraine". The sub's moderators had promoted various pieces of disinformation, including claims that the Ukrainian military was controlled by Nazis; that Ukraine was using human shields to raise the conflict's death toll; and that the Ukrainian leadership was refusing calls for peace negotiations. When it was quarantined, r/Russia had over 265,000 subscribers. Its sister sub, {{proper name|r/RussiaPolitics}}, was also quarantined for similar reasons.<ref>{{Cite web |first=M. |last=Moon |date=1 March 2022 |title=Reddit hides r/Russia from search and recommendations due to misinformation |url=https://www.engadget.com/reddit-quarantines-r-russia-134600419.html |access-date=22 March 2022 |website=Engadget |archive-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322040223/https://www.engadget.com/reddit-quarantines-r-russia-134600419.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Yeo |first=Amanda |date=1 March 2022 |title=Reddit has quarantined r/Russia due to misinformation |url=https://mashable.com/article/reddit-russia-subreddit-quarantined-ukraine |access-date=22 March 2022 |website=Mashable |archive-date=March 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301061122/https://mashable.com/article/reddit-russia-subreddit-quarantined-ukraine |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hatmaker |first=Taylor |date=1 March 2022 |title=Reddit quarantines r/Russia due to 'high volume' of misinformation |url=https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/01/reddit-russian-subreddit-quarantine/ |access-date=22 March 2022 |website=TechCrunch |archive-date=March 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220323060036/https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/01/reddit-russian-subreddit-quarantine/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Sino === {{proper name|r/Sino}} is a subreddit focused on China which features pro-CCP propaganda.<ref name="time2022" /> As in r/GenZedong, users often express anti-Uyghur racism and denial of oppression against Uyghurs.<ref name="time2022" />
=== Technology ===
In April 2014, a ''Daily Dot'' article revealed that moderators of {{proper name|r/Technology}} were using automatic filters to remove submissions that contained certain keywords, including "Aaron Swartz", "Tesla",<ref name="Alfonso 2014">{{cite web |url=http://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-technology-tesla-ban/ |title=Reddit's r/technology has apparently been blocking Tesla links for months |website=The Daily Dot |last1=Alfonso |first1=Fernando III |date=March 29, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030085346/http://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-technology-tesla-ban/ |archive-date=October 30, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> "Comcast", "NSA", and "Snowden".<ref name="Collier 2014">{{cite news |url=http://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-technology-banned-words/ |title=Reddit mods are censoring dozens of words from r/technology posts |last1=Collier |first1=Kevin |date=April 14, 2014 |work=The Daily Dot |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140516065459/http://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-technology-banned-words/ |archive-date=May 16, 2014 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> At the time, the subreddit had 5 million subscribers.
The article engendered protest among Redditors, who raised concerns about censorship, and {{proper name|r/technology}} lost its default subreddit status.<ref name="Tsotsis 2014">{{cite news |url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/04/23/the-return-of-reddits-rtechnology-is-certainly-possible/ |title=The Return Of Reddit's /r/Technology Is 'Certainly Possible' |date=April 23, 2014 |website=TechCrunch |last=Tsotsis |first=Alexia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140516100600/http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/23/the-return-of-reddits-rtechnology-is-certainly-possible/ |archive-date=May 16, 2014 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="Peckham 2014">{{cite news |url=https://time.com/71644/reddit-demotes-technology-section-to-punish-lazy-moderators/ |title=Reddit Demotes Technology Section to Punish Lazy Moderators |date=April 22, 2014 |magazine=Time |last=Peckham |first=Matt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140516065457/http://time.com/71644/reddit-demotes-technology-section-to-punish-lazy-moderators/ |archive-date=May 16, 2014 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all |url-access=limited}}</ref>
=== TheRedPill === {{See also|Manosphere}}
Alluding to the symbol of the "red pill" from the film ''The Matrix'',{{sfnp|Milner|2016|pp=118–119}}<ref name="Hodapp">{{cite book |last=Hodapp |first=Christa |title=Men's Rights, Gender, and Social Media |publisher=Lexington Books |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-49-852617-3 |location=Lanham, Maryland |quote= |pages=xvi–xvii}}</ref> {{proper name|r/TheRedPill}} is devoted to discussions of male sexual strategy in which participants are ranked as "alpha" or "beta" males.{{sfnp|Cousineau|2021|pp=134–135}} The subreddit promotes antifeminism,{{sfnp|Cousineau|2021|pp=134–135}}{{r|Ging 2019}} rape culture,<ref name="Ging 2019">{{Cite journal |last=Ging |first=Debbie |year=2019 |title=Alphas, Betas, and Incels: Theorizing the Masculinities of the Manosphere |journal=Men and Masculinities |volume=22 |issue=4 |pages=638–657 |doi=10.1177/1097184X17706401 |s2cid=149239953 |issn=1097-184X |doi-access=}}</ref> hegemonic masculinity, and traditional gender roles.{{sfnp|Milner|2016|pp=118–119}} Users discuss diet and physical fitness; share "pick-up" techniques for seducing women; and display varying levels of misogyny, ranging from virulent hatred of women to simple frustration with contemporary male experience.{{r|Hodapp}}
In 2018, the Southern Poverty Law Center described r/TheRedPill as one of several male supremacist subreddits featuring xenophobic discourse.<ref name="Male Supremacy">{{cite web |title=Male Supremacy |url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/male-supremacy |publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180607230856/https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/male-supremacy |archive-date=June 7, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> One critic compared the ideology expressed in r/TheRedPill to alt-right philosophy, highlighting attacks on feminism and mockery of rape as common threads.<ref name="Gallagher 2018">{{cite news |last1=Gallagher |first1=Brenden |title=What is r/TheRedPill? |url=https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/reddit-red-pill/ |work=The Daily Dot |date=June 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808213850/https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/reddit-red-pill/ |archive-date=August 8, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''The New Statesman'' described it as one of the most misogynistic subreddits on Reddit, intended to radicalize men.{{r|Tait 2017}}
In 2017, ''The Daily Beast'' revealed that New Hampshire legislator Robert Fisher created r/TheRedPill and had posted demeaning comments about women there. Fisher resigned.<ref name="Romano 2017">{{cite news |last1=Romano |first1=Aja |title=Reddit's TheRedPill, notorious for its misogyny, was founded by a New Hampshire state legislator |url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/4/28/15434770/red-pill-founded-by-robert-fisher-new-hampshire |work=Vox |date=April 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190614062031/https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/4/28/15434770/red-pill-founded-by-robert-fisher-new-hampshire |archive-date=June 14, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>
{{As of |2018}}, the subreddit is quarantined.<ref name="Sommer 2018">{{cite news |last1=Sommer |first1=Will |title=Reddit 'Quarantines' White Nationalist Subreddits |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/reddit-quarantines-white-nationalist-subreddits |date=September 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190506084204/https://www.thedailybeast.com/reddit-quarantines-white-nationalist-subreddits |archive-date=May 6, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>
=== WhitePeopleTwitter ===
{{proper name|r/WhitePeopleTwitter}} is a controversial Reddit community that has produced controversy from several posts which included satirical or hoax tweets taken from their original context that then went viral on social media. One such tweet joked that Twitter CEO Elon Musk was introducing a "special verification for users of the Jewish faith".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Liles |first1=Jordan |title=Tweet About Elon Musk Giving Jewish Accounts Star Badges Is Satire |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/musk-jewish-star-badges/ |website=Snopes |date=November 7, 2022 |access-date=24 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221107213635/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/musk-jewish-star-badges/ |archive-date=7 November 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> Another purported to be written by conservative commentator Matt Walsh and claimed he engaged in sexual assault multiple times.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Liles |first1=Jordan |title=Matt Walsh Never Tweeted 'Taking Advantage of a Drunk Girl Is Not Rape' |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/matt-walsh-drunk-rape/ |website=Snopes |date=December 2, 2022 |access-date=24 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202235138/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/matt-walsh-drunk-rape |archive-date=2 December 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> A third feigned support for then-recently arrested social media personality Andrew Tate.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Liles |first1=Jordan |title=Viral Tweet About Andrew Tate Under 'Demonic Attack' Originated as Satire |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/andrew-tate-satan-tweet/ |website=Snopes |date=January 5, 2023 |access-date=24 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230105010711/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/andrew-tate-satan-tweet |archive-date=5 January 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> Like its sister subreddit, r/BlackPeopleTwitter, it mainly sources their posts from a specific racial group, which unlike its sister subreddit, r/BlackPeopleTwitter, involves specifically white people's posts.
==== Temporary ban ====
On February 3, 2025, r/WhitePeopleTwitter was temporarily banned for 72 hours by site administrators. A Reddit spokesperson stated that the ban was due to "a prevalence of violent content", adding that "Inciting and glorifying violence or doxing are against Reddit's platform-wide Rules."<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Bell |first=Karissa |date=2025-02-04 |title=Reddit temporarily bans r/WhitePeopleTwitter after Elon Musk claimed it had 'broken the law' |url=https://www.engadget.com/social-media/reddit-temporarily-bans-rwhitepeopletwitter-after-elon-musk-claimed-it-had-broken-the-law-212131945.html |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=Engadget |language=en-US |archive-date=February 5, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250205012642/https://www.engadget.com/social-media/reddit-temporarily-bans-rwhitepeopletwitter-after-elon-musk-claimed-it-had-broken-the-law-212131945.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite news |last=Gerken |first=Tom |date=2025-02-05 |title=Reddit community banned as user spat with Musk intensifies |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czrlep5xpmzo |url-status=live |work=BBC News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250206013108/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czrlep5xpmzo|archive-date=2025-02-06}}</ref>
The ban came about after an X user, @RedditLies, posted a screenshot of comments on the subreddit about the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its leader at the time, Elon Musk.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Odisho |first=Taylor |date=2025-02-04 |title=Reddit Bans Page for 'Inciting Violence' Against DOGE Employees After Elon Musk Accuses Users of Breaking the Law |url=https://www.latintimes.com/reddit-bans-page-inciting-violence-against-doge-employees-after-elon-musk-accuses-users-574568 |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Latin Times |language=en |archive-date=February 18, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250218221119/https://www.latintimes.com/reddit-bans-page-inciting-violence-against-doge-employees-after-elon-musk-accuses-users-574568 |url-status=live }}</ref> The screenshot included comments such as "time to hunt", "this Nazi stooge needs to be shot", and threats to drag the employees' bodies. Musk noticed the X post of the various comments and quoted it, stating, "They have broken the law".<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":5" /><ref name=":4" /> == Free speech rationale ==
In 2011, the site's general manager, Erik Martin, stated that Reddit would not ban communities solely for featuring controversial content. He noted that "having to stomach occasional troll [sub]reddits like r/picsofdeadkids or morally questionable [sub]reddits like r/jailbait are part of the price of free speech on a site like this."<ref name="A. Fernando" /> He argued that it is not Reddit's place to censor its users.<ref name="A. Fernando">{{cite news |last=Alfonso |first=Fernando |title=Reddit wrestles with violence and misogyny |url=http://www.dailydot.com/society/reddit-beatingwomen-misogyny-images/ |access-date=May 3, 2013 |newspaper=The Daily Dot |date=August 11, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130112220640/http://www.dailydot.com/society/reddit-beatingwomen-misogyny-images/ |archive-date=January 12, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Similarly, the site's former CEO, Yishan Wong, argued that Reddit should not ban distasteful subreddits because, as a platform, it should serve the ideals of free speech.<ref name="Yishan">{{cite news |date=October 17, 2012 |title=Reddit will not ban 'distasteful' content, chief executive says |work=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19975375 |url-status=live |access-date=May 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130111233743/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19975375 |archive-date=January 11, 2013}}</ref><ref name=Chen>{{cite web |last=Chen |first=Adrian |title=Reddit CEO Speaks Out on Violentacrez in Leaked Memo: 'We Stand for Free Speech' |url=http://gawker.com/5952349/reddit-ceo-speaks-out-on-violentacrez-in-leaked-memo-we-stand-for-free-speech |website=Gawker |access-date=May 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522053100/http://gawker.com/5952349/reddit-ceo-speaks-out-on-violentacrez-in-leaked-memo-we-stand-for-free-speech |archive-date=May 22, 2013}}</ref> Critics responded that Reddit had not been consistent in following its free speech philosophy.<ref name="The Guardian">{{cite news |last=Ball |first=James |title=Reddit wants free speech – as long as it agrees with the speaker |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/oct/15/reddit-free-speech-gawker |access-date=May 3, 2013 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=October 15, 2012 |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225040836/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/oct/15/reddit-free-speech-gawker |archive-date=December 25, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Businessweek>{{cite news |last=Ingram |first=Matthew |title=Twitter, Reddit, and the Battle Over Freedom of Speech |url=http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-10-18/twitter-reddit-and-the-battle-over-freedom-of-speech |access-date=May 3, 2013 |newspaper=Bloomberg Businessweek |date=October 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419065910/http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-10-18/twitter-reddit-and-the-battle-over-freedom-of-speech |archive-date=April 19, 2013 }}</ref> In a 2015 discussion on the site's content policy, founder Steve Huffman stated that "neither Alexis [Ohanian] nor I created Reddit to be a bastion of free speech".<ref name = "bastion" /> Users were to quick to point out that only three years ago, Alexis Ohanian had used that very phrase in a Forbes interview<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hill |first=Kashmir |title=Reddit Co-Founder Alexis Ohanian's Rosy Outlook On The Future of Politics |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/02/reddit-co-founder-alexis-ohanians-rosy-outlook-on-the-future-of-politics/ |access-date=2026-04-21 |work=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> to describe the site.
When it banned r/The_Donald in 2020, Reddit expanded upon the kinds of content it was willing to ban, implementing new rules that directly prohibit hate speech.<ref name="Axios The_Donald">{{cite web |last=Fischer |first=Sara |title=Reddit bans The_Donald forum as part of major hate speech purge |url=https://www.axios.com/reddit-bans-the_donald-forum-as-part-of-major-hate-speech-purge-fbc8a185-0f81-402a-8629-08bec50be4f9.html |website=Axios |date=June 29, 2020 |access-date=September 22, 2021 |archive-date=September 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210919054540/https://www.axios.com/reddit-bans-the_donald-forum-as-part-of-major-hate-speech-purge-fbc8a185-0f81-402a-8629-08bec50be4f9.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The following year, despite moderator criticism, Reddit vowed to allow conversations that "question or disagree with popular consensus" regarding the COVID-19 pandemic: "dissent is a part of Reddit and the foundation of democracy." Reddit did eventually ban r/NoNewNormal after moderator protests, but the ban was leveled for unduly influencing other communities, not for promoting misinformation.<ref name="Guardian COVID"/>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== General references == * {{cite book |last1=Cousineau |first1=Luc S. |editor1-last=Devries |editor1-first=Melody |editor2-last=Bessant |editor2-first=Judith |editor3-last=Watts |editor3-first=Rob |title=Rise of the Far Right: Technologies of Recruitment and Mobilization |year=2021 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-78661-493-3 |pages=127–145 |chapter='A Positive Identity for Men'?: Pathways to Far-Right Participation through Reddit's /r/MensRights and /r/TheRedPill}} * {{cite book |last1=Milner |first1=Ryan M. |title=The World Made Meme: Public Conversations and Participatory Media |date=2016 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-53522-9}}
{{Reddit}}
Category:Reddit controversies Category:Internet ethics Category:Internet vigilantism Category:Internet privacy Category:Online obscenity controversies Category:Social bookmarking Category:News aggregators Category:Political websites Category:Child pornography websites Category:Violence against women Category:21st-century controversies Controversial Category:Alt-right Internet forums Category:Cyberbullying