Reddit Quarantines Pro-Trump Subreddit Over Threats of Violence
Reddit restricts the controversial r/The_Donald community by placing it in quarantine due to threats against police and public figures. The opt-in measure falls short of a full ban despite ongoing criticism of the group's rule violations.
Reddit quietly places its controversial r/The_Donald subreddit under quarantine after the community hosts threats against police and public figures. This restriction means that non-subscribers cannot access the content directly and must click through an opt-in warning screen to view the posts. A company spokesperson states that while Reddit is cautious about political speech, the recent violent threats clearly violate the site's policies.
This action stops short of a complete ban that many users have long demanded from CEO Steve Huffman. Just last month, Huffman explains that simply banning a large political community presents massive problems for both the platform and American democracy, even though individual offending posts and users face regular removals and suspensions. The company historically shows reluctance to fully eliminate controversial subreddits, having only recently banned the r/WatchPeopleDie community after the New Zealand mosque shooting.
A moderator for r/The_Donald criticizes the quarantine as an impossible standard designed to suppress the community ahead of the 2020 election. The pro-Trump subreddit represents a long-standing headache for Reddit leadership due to its connections to racism, sexism, xenophobia, and Russian election interference. By choosing a quarantine over a ban, Reddit attempts to balance its violence policies with its hesitation to completely dismantle a massive political forum.