Hundreds of Reddit communities are rallying to ban links to Elon Musk’s X platform after the billionaire performed what Democrats called Nazi-like salutes at an inauguration rally this week.
Leaders from several popular subreddits took action this week, banning the practice of posting X links. The Reddit communities leading the effort to ban X links range from subreddits focused on professional basketball to Dungeons & Dragons.
“We have reached this decision after taking recent events and strong sentiment from our community into account,” a moderator from the r/NBA subreddit wrote Tuesday. “While we try our best to stay neutral and apolitical, we do not believe taking a stance against Nazi symbolism is or should be a political issue.”
Dozens of popular subreddits have followed suit, and others are in the process of convincing community moderators to enact bans on X links. Subreddits focusing on specific states like Georgia and cities like Washington, D.C., have also called on moderators to ban X links.
Reddit itself has no overarching ban on links to X and hasn’t commented on Mr. Musk’s gestures. The company also pointed out that it respects the rights of its moderators to make the correct decisions for their respective subreddits.
After speaking to lively Trump supporters on Monday, Mr. Musk thanked them before placing his hand over his heart and outstretching it with his palm facing down. He repeated the gesture to the crowd behind him.
Mr. Musk brushed off Nazi comparisons and ridiculed pundits who decried the gesture. After Wikipedia wrote that some viewed his gesture as a Nazi salute, he called for the site to be defunded.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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