Elon Musk personally messaged Reddit CEO Steve Huffman to complain about a subreddit that posted details about those working for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). That subreddit was later temporarily banned, The Verge reports.
At issue is the r/WhitePeopleTwitter subreddit. After reports of DOGE staffers gaining access to citizens’ sensitive data made headlines, Redditors called for them to be named publicly; some posted violent threats.
“They have broken the law,” Musk tweeted in response to a screenshot of those comments.
According to The Verge, Musk also texted Huffman, asking him to intervene. Shortly after, Reddit took down the thread Musk called out and banned the entire subreddit for 72 hours over the “prevalence of violent content.” In a statement to The Verge, Reddit said, “We evaluate content reported to us and take action if violating.”
The r/WhitePeopleTwitter subreddit is still active with some new ground rules. “No harassment or bullying. Public figures? Fair game. Regular people? Off-limits. No doxxing whatsoever. No violence, even as a joke,” the subreddit says.
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Musk’s intervention is somewhat ironic, given his free speech crusade. On X, the platform he owns, Musk has bristled at content moderation efforts. He has also personally targeted government workers himself via his X account.
Redditors and Musk were already at odds. Several subreddits banned links to X after the tech billionaire made a Nazi salute-like gesture at a Trump inauguration event.
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About Jibin Joseph
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