Dozens of big subreddits have already banned all Twitter links, and posts about potential bans are some of the most popular on the site.
Summary
Hundreds of subreddits are debating banning links to X.com (formerly Twitter) following Elon Musk’s Nazi salute at a Trump rally.
Dozens of subreddit moderators have already implemented bans, while others are holding votes among their communities.
The bans span political, regional, and topical subreddits, including r/NewJersey, r/londonOntario, and r/christianity, with some highlighting Musk’s gesture alongside neo-Nazi imagery.
This move reflects growing backlash against Musk and his platform over perceived alignment with extremist symbolism.
We're spending so much media attention on this Nazi salute that I'm wondering if it may have been the intent all along - tie up media coverage while the Trump administration pushes harmful legislation through under the radar.
The thing is, Trump's harmful policies are in fact Nazi policies. We need to be spending more attention on the fact that there are now Nazis in the White House.
Yeah man, it got a lot worse recently, fuck that place. I was here like right during the exodus but I wanted to give it more time and see how it develops. Much more populated now!
I've banned new Teslas from going before me at stop signs, passing me on the freeway, and not being cut off by me within inches in the left lane at any opportunity I can take.
Boycotting Twitter is a good idea for many reasons. However this kind of blanket link ban will lead to more informational segregation quickly. This has already happened in many ways since the beginning of the war on Ukraine. Linking to Telegram or any Russian website is no longer allowed in many forums, e. g. Reddit. That has made finding original sources and verifying information much more difficult.
Take links to videos for example. Reddit is full of videos copied from YouTube, Telegram, TikTok, etc. without attributing the original source. The World Wide Web was supposed to link information together into a network, where you can follow up on origins snd details. Nowadays it has turned into a series of copy & paste silos, enabling the most extreme echo chambers.
Sure. MAGA/Trumpism aren’t reincarnated Nazis though. It is a uniquely American populist personality cult. Calling them Nazis means you don’t understand how they operate and why they’re successful.
The changes in attitudes towards social media websites, caused in this instance by Elon Musk are a great way for those in power to suppress another Arab Spring type event in the future.
The change in attitude is the consequence, not the cause. The best way for those in power to suppress another Arab Spring type event is a change in ownership of a massively influential social media platform where the richest man can take over completely to censor and control the narrative and oh, whoops... that already happened.
Social media wasn’t the primary driver behind the Arab spring. The economic issues were the trigger. People couldn’t afford to buy food. Lack of food will topple any government. Media control only gets one so far.
On the Internet the dominant websites can change quickly. Being banned from Twitter enabled Trump‘s Truth Social. Buying Twitter gave Elon Musk a giant soap box. However new soapboxes are constructed all the time and some succeed.
I have an account for a few specific subs (that shut down during the strike) that don't have Lemmy equivalents. But I really don't browse. The only time I get on there is to check reactions to big events (football games, new movies, etc). And even then it's pretty rare.
That won't happen. As Twitter dies those users have to go somewhere. While Reddit isn't a direct competitor as a service, it is in terms of time/eyeballs.
Ideally folks would move to Mastodon/Lemmy/etc, but that's a different problem.
Yeah, especially on mobile where they keep bugging people to install their app even if you've logged in. Sometimes they even block you from viewing certain communities on mobile if you're not using their app but if you've desktop site enabled from browser settings.
Reddit's response to this will reveal where Reddit likely falls on the Spectrum of Evil. They're a privately-held company, so any possible protection money they may have paid to the Nazis won't be visible like Meta's and such until the FEC report is (likely never) released in 3 months.
I would not take that bet lol, i guarantee they are tweaking over this and scared about how this effects shareholders, they should be more worried about all the sus nsfw stuff right next to ads for "wholesome" companies
LMAO well said. It sucks that we really don't have a decent alternative to reddit. I miss my niche subs.
Digg should have never released V4. It was reddit's only competition, but now it's a soulless, corporate curated media platform. You can't even comment anymore.
I wish I could stop using WhatsApp but that's where all the people without phone plans are. I wish I could stop using Telegram but that's where all the drug dealers are. I wish Reddit would ban X links, but that's where all the sassy hot takes are.
You can of course, you're just chosing to support zuck, musk and durov because it's slightly inconvenient for you not to
Of those three, telegram isn't as bad though. They're insecure and share data with law enforcement etc, but they're not as active and enthusiastic collaborators with Trump
My point is the network effect. That's where people are and I have no power to change that, so that is where I must sometimes be. If it was up to me, things would be wonderful and open source. But I sometimes have to deal with — ugh... humans.
Are there other sites to which links are banned? I don't really like that policy for anything no matter how nefarious. Unless it's malware or a liability and going to land the visitor in prison.
Porn sites without strict CSAM, malicious injection or spam protection, many individual subs ban extreme right-wing sites, Fox News or opposite left-etc
I have less of an issue with individual communities banning certain links, I think an instance-wide ban on anything due to ideology is annoying. I can figure out that Nazis suck on my own, thank you.
I don’t like the guy either way, but I still can’t believe this is actually real. Are there any videos that show unequivocally that this is a salute and not just a meme made out of a poorly timed photo? All I’ve seen so far are just still shots, which leads me to suspect there’s a spin on this.
Edit: I should also add I avoid X as much as possible anyway.