Reddit is expected to ban thousands of forums on its platform in a new crackdown on content that will remove venues utilized by President Trump’s supporters and far-left liberals.
The subreddit forums r/The_Donald, which is popular with Mr. Trump’s fans, and r/ChapoTrapHouse, which is a favorite of liberal Reddit users, are slated for removal alongside approximately 2,000 other communities, according to The Verge tech website.
Reddit’s crackdown is responsive to new policies it is implementing regarding hate speech.
“I have to admit that I’ve struggled with balancing my values as an American, and around free speech and expression, with my values and the company’s values around common human decency,” said Reddit CEO Steve Huffman on a call with The Verge.
Reddit’s policy shift comes shortly after the departure of Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who resigned as a member of Reddit’s board earlier this month and requested that he be replaced with a Black candidate.
Earlier this year, Reddit announced it would share greater detail about political content on its platform, particularly political ads, ahead of the 2020 election. The company developed a publicly searchable database of political ads on its platform back-dated through 2019 that reveals advertisers, spending, and other details previously not made public.
• Ryan Lovelace can be reached at rlovelace@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.