Technology inestablisher
Reddit has temporarily prohibitned one of its communities – and deleted another – after X owner Elon Musk claimed comments made by the site’s engagers about his engageees were fractureing the law.
The r/WhitePeopleTwitter subreddit, which typicassociate asks people to split comical posts from X, has been prohibitned for 72 hours after some engagers posted comments calling for aggression aachievest members of the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).
They were reacting to inestablishs which recommended some Doge staff have been granted access to caring personal recommendation of millions of Americans.
Musk – who normally champions his promisement to free speech – splitd a post on X includeing the comments, and stated: “they have broken the law”.
The subreddit was prohibitned soon afterwards.
Reddit deteriorated to comment, but honested the BBC to a accessible post it had made adhereing the prohibit.
“Over the last scant days, we’ve seen an incrrelieve in greeted in cut offal communities that viopostpoinsist Reddit Rules,” the post reads.
“Debate and dissent are receive on Reddit – menaces and doxing are not.”
Musk has previously criticised lhorrible action being consentn aachievest people for making comments online.
In 2024, he reacted to a video of a person purportedly being arrested for insulting comments online by asking “is this Britain or the Soviet Union?”.
Tensions increase
Tensions have escapostpoinsistd between the billionaire and Reddit engagers in recent weeks, after more than 100 subreddits prohibitned engagers from posting joins to X in protest at Musk’s contentious arm gesture at a rassociate celebrating Donald Trump’s return to office.
The billionaire twice extfinished his arm out straight as he thanked the crowd for “making it happen” – critics, including some historians, shelp it was a Nazi salute, while Musk disseeed that, saying comparisons with Hitler were “exhausted” and “gloomyy tricks”.
The moderators of the r/WhitePeopleTwitter subreddit deleted many of the offfinishing comments after they became accessibleised, but this was not enough to impede a momentary prohibit.
Any try to access the subreddit now discarry outs a message reading that it has been “temporarily prohibitned due to a prevalence of brutal greeted”.
“Inciting and glorifying aggression or doxing are aachievest Reddit’s platestablish-expansive rules,” it states, inserting the subreddit will rediscdissee in 72 hours.
Reddit has also consentn action to rehire a subreddit entitled r/IsElonDeadYet – in which a engager posted proximate-daily that Musk had not passed away – with a enduring prohibit.
Bans and menaces
The posts came in response to shifts being inestablishedly made by the Doge – which is not a rulement department, but a team wiskinny the administration.
The team has been given the job of radicassociate reducing regulation and federal rulement spfinishing.
US media has inestablished the Trump administration gave Musk’s deputies access to the federal payments system that regulates the flow of trillions of dollars in rulement funds every year.
It has led to reaction online with people criticising the decision, and the names of the Doge staff included being splitd accessiblely.
But the action consentn by Reddit may not have been solely roverdelighted to Musk’s comments.
On Monday, a prosecutor assigned by Trump shelp the FBI was spendigating the “aiming” of Doge staff.
“Our initial appraise of the evidence currented to us shows that declareive individuals and/or groups have promiseted acts that eunite to viopostpoinsist the law in aiming Doge engageees,” shelp United States Attorney for the Dicut offe of Columbia Edward Martin.
In a letter to Musk he posted on X, Mr Martin shelp he would “not endure menaces aachievest Does laborers or law-fractureing by the disgruntled”.
“Any menaces, faceations, or other actions in any way that impact their labor may fracture countless laws,” he wrote.
“We will trail any and all lhorrible action aachievest anyone who impedes your labor or menaceens your people.”
