Elon Musk aims at Reddit

Elon Musk has aimed at Reddit after some of the site’s moderators introduced a ban on links to X, former Twitter, in protest of his alleged Nazi honors during an event for President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Newsweek Has contacted Reddit for Comment via E email.

Why it matters

It comes after the billionaire and the self-proclaimed “free utterance absolutist” aimed at Wikipedia, after the online-cocklopa’s annual report 2023-4 showed that 29 percent of its budget had been spent on “Equity” and “Security and Inclusion.”

Reddit runs considerable traffic to X, especially for discussions related to trending topics on the platform, so a ban on X -Links on Reddit could have a significant impact on Musk’s company.

What to know

Musk was aiming for Reddit when an X-user claimed the site was “anti-free speech” after he said he was banned from the “comics” training to deny that the tech mogul was doing a Nazi greeting by Trump’s initiation.

“Reddit remains anti-free speech,” said Cedric Hohnstadt at X. “I just got a life ban from the ‘comics’ SUDREDDIT. Yesterday I released a humor cartoon that got over 5,400 emerges. Then I noticed that there Was a fixed post from the moderators who said that comics that are attached from X could no longer be shared because Musk gave a Nazi greeting all my previous posts from ‘Comics’ SUFTERDIT. Million times.

“This is insane,” Musk replied.

Musk has been forced to tackle accusations that he made a Nazi gesture just one day into Trump’s second administration, serving as head of the newly created advisory department of government efficiency (DOGE).

At that moment, reactions all over the world, with the Russian state -TV, blurred the alleged greeting. In Russia, there are strict laws against Nazi symbols. Meanwhile, a picture of musk was projected that made the greeting at Teslas Gigafactory in Berlin on Monday along with the words “Heil Tesla”, while a space that appears prominent with Musk was removed from a museum in Germany.

Musk has dismissed the accusations and called them an attempt at “dirty tricks.” He has previously denied that he is anti -Semitic or that he is political in line with Nazism or fascism. Anti-Defamation League (ADL) fighting anti-Semitism, Musk’s gesture said was not a Nazi greeting.

Nevertheless, according to BBC News, more than 100 Reddit communities have prohibited users to place links to X in protest at Musk’s actions.

Some of the biggest subbreddits enforce the ban include R/NBA, a basketball society with 15 million members; R/toxchromosomes, a women -focused forum with 14 million members; and R/NFL, an American football community with 12 million members. Subbreddits is almost always powered by fans.

X has not commented but Reddit has emphasized that there is no Sitwide ban on x -links, tells Newsweek In a statement, it has “a long -term obligation to freedom of expression and freedom of association.”

What people say

A spokesperson for Reddit told Newsweek: “Reddit Inc. has no ban on x -links – there is still Lots of X -Links on Reddit. Reddit Inc. Also has no prohibition on the special user mentioned in the X -submission.

“In particular, many Reddit communities also prohibit Reddit Links. Reddit has a long-term obligation to freedom of expression and freedom of association. We have over 100,000 active communities across a wide range of topics. Any user is free to participate, create or moderate their own community .

The spokesman also noted that individual communities have the freedom to establish their own rules. They said that many subbreddits are already limiting social media relations when they are not relevant to the content, such as R/EarthPorn, which is exclusively dedicated to nature photography, or R/Askreddit, which only allows text -based questions.

What happens next

The effect of the ban on X is currently unclear, but it can reduce the amount of traffic directed to Musk’s platform.

If Embargo continues, it can escalate tension between the government and tech companies.

Update 1/31/25, 12:44 AM ET: This article has been updated with a comment from Reddit.