Multiple communities on Reddit have banned links from Elon Musk’s X platform after the tech mogul flashed a gesture that resembled a Nazi salute during an inauguration event.
Musk has vehemently denied that his gesture of placing his hand on his heart and quickly extending his arm was a Nazi salute, later mocking those who criticized him. Many defended the tech mogul, pointing to how he was celebrating President Donald Trump’s supporters in the crowd or arguing he just had an awkward moment. The criticism has persisted, however, carrying over to Reddit.
Reddit is a social forum that uses “subreddits” to divide information and discourse into topics. These subreddits act as communities, and several of them have banned X content.
What subreddits have banned X?
Several prominent subreddits with up to millions of members have banned links to X on their platforms. One of the largest is r/antiwork, a subreddit interested in ending work, which has just under 3 million members.
The subreddit banned content from X, Meta, and “platforms affiliated with the CCP” such as TikTok. The subreddit banned links from the site because “Elon Musk promotes white supremacist ideology and gave a Nazi salute during Donald Trump’s inauguration.”
NBC News reported that it has identified more than 50 subreddit communities where moderators have announced links from X are no longer allowed in new posts and comments.
Another prominent subreddit, r/newjersey, which covers topics relating to the state, banned links from X on Jan. 21. “F*** this guy. X links are now banned from r/newjersey,” a post announcing the move said.
How does the management of subreddits work?
Any Reddit user can start a subreddit if the name is not taken. When a user starts a subreddit, they automatically become the top moderator of that community. Moderators control the content on the subreddit and set rules and guidelines for members.
For communities that are already moderated, additional moderators are only added by invitation. Often, a moderator will add someone who is very active in the community.
Reddit describes moderators as “volunteer redditors who help ensure that your favorite communities are fun, interesting, and well-organized places to discuss and share content with other redditors.” The forum says that in addition to removing posts and comments that violate community-specific rules, “moderators can guide the look, purpose, and types of content in their communities and have a positive impact on all of their subscribers’ Reddit experience.”
Bans on X links are enforced by taking down posts that have the links or stopping them from being posted entirely.
A Reddit spokesperson told Ars Technica that decisions to ban X links are user-driven and the company doesn’t ban those links itself. Subreddit members are allowed to suggest and institute subreddit rules, they added.
“Notably, many Reddit communities also prohibit Reddit links,” they said. “Reddit has a longstanding commitment to freedom of speech and freedom of association.”
The spokesperson said anyone unhappy with the ban on X links in their preferred subreddit is welcome to make their own community.
What impact could this have on X and Musk?
The impact of subreddits banning links to X is not crystal clear. If users of large subreddits are unable to share posts from X in their communities, it will prevent the social media company from reaching them there.
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It’ll likely reduce traffic to the site from Reddit itself. Hundreds of millions of users access Reddit every week.
While it’s unclear how damaging banning links will be to X, it will be harmful to the company’s web traffic.