Many Reddit users are boycotting social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, after Elon Musk gestured twice during President Trump's first celebration that drew comparisons to Nazi Salute .
Musk, the social media platform's billionaire owner, spoke at a celebratory rally as the 47th president on Monday after Trump's installment, with his hands on his heart and his arms folded with palms facing down. I lifted it. Hail to the audience.
Despite Musk's criticism, speculation arose online about the meaning of the gesture. Including Reddit, where people gather on thousands of forums known as subreddits to discuss niche interests such as hobbies, sports, celebrity gossip, and geopolitics.
By Tuesday, the proposal had appeared in numerous Reddit groups with a wide range of interests. Many users wanted to be banned from linking to the X Post as a way to boycott the platform and Mr. Musk.
A moderator of a subreddit devoted to Formula 1 racing said he would ban content from X “during a trial period.” Links from X are also prohibited in R/Newjersey. r/Newjersey said in a post with an attached photo of Musk, the forum's moderator, adorned with a red block symbol. (There were similar posts on other Place-centered forums.) Two Xchromosomes, a space centered on women's perspectives, said its bot automatically removes X-links. The announcement garnered thousands of votes of approval.
By Wednesday morning, organizers of the group, which has a huge audience focused on hometowns, sports teams, board games and the economy, were discussing or surveying members' appetites for a potential boycott of X. . Pushes back on Mr. Musk after appearing at inauguration event. Others said they had been irritated with Mr. Musk for some time because of X's transformation and his views on politics and other issues.
Musk appeared to dismiss interpretations of his gesture late Monday, sharing a user's post on X that called it the “salute hoax” part of the Democratic “dirty tricks campaign” against him. “Frankly, they need better dirty tricks,” Musk added. “The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is soooo tired. ”
Fueling Reddit's X boycott on Tuesday, many users appalled by Musk's gesture said the online protest was a way to show “zero tolerance” for Nazism. Others said the gesture was the last straw, pointing to accusations that X is either spreading misinformation or is simply becoming harder to use.
“There is no doubt that Twitter has become a source of low quality over the past few years,” the F1 Group moderator said, citing X’s prioritization of posts from paying users and promoting its “sensational content.” They said feedback from their community encouraged them to take the step.
But the boycott was divisive. Some users raised questions about censorship and free speech, and Musk's supporters called it an orchestrated campaign against him. Some conservatives on another forum said a boycott would encourage people to abandon Reddit instead.
Jarrod Maynard, a moderator of one of the groups proposing to ban links to X, said the boycott was a “community-driven response” to ethical concerns rather than censorship. “Reddit's moderators and members are not banning ideas, content, or discussion originating from Twitter. Instead, they are simply choosing not to drive traffic and ad revenue to the platform.” he added.
X did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Reddit said boycotting X is not company policy.
“Reddit has a long-standing commitment to free speech and related freedoms,” a Reddit spokesperson said Wednesday. Reddit has not banned links from X, she added, noting that such links are still up. The community was free to suggest its own rules, a spokesperson said, and many had previously banned social media links for a variety of reasons.
Once considered one of the darkest parts of the internet, Reddit has become a useful resource in recent years for people looking for news, entertainment, and personal advice. Its CEO, Steve Huffman, maintains a lower profile than other social media figures like Meta CEOs Mr. Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.
Reddit's embrace of volunteer moderators has helped change how users interact on forums, along with policing harassment and other toxic behavior.
“It's the public square,” said David Dunning, a psychology professor at the University of Michigan who has studied political beliefs and polarization.
Professor Dunning said boycotts could reveal insights into how people respond to political polarization. But whether it has been affected or not depends on the answers to key questions, he said.
“One is, how many communities does this open up?” he said. “Secondly, how long will it last? Both of these dimensions are really important.”
