Reddit quarantines pro-Trump subreddit
Site administrators say users violated the content policy with threats of violence against police and public officials.
Reddit administrators took action against the site's pro-Trump subreddit.
Reddit has many subreddits dedicated to different interests. Fans of President Donald Trump, for example, have their own space called The_Donald. That subreddit is now at risk of going away due to violations of the site's content policy.
Reddit administrators quarantined The_Donald on Wednesday. Redditors visiting the board were met with a warning about the quarantine and a message saying violations included "threats of violence against police and public officials."
The warning users see when visiting The_Donald.
"We are clear in our site-wide policies that posting content that encourages or threatens violence is not allowed on Reddit," a spokesperson said in an emailed statement Wednesday. "As we have shared, we are sensitive to what could be considered political speech, however, recent behaviors including threats against the police and public figures is content that is prohibited by our violence policy. As a result, we have actioned individual users and quarantined the subreddit."
A quarantine on a subreddit means it's still available for users to view and comment on, but the warning is there to prevent the content from being viewed accidentally. In some cases, site administrators will take additional action and ban the entire subreddit.
Moderators of The_Donald posted a letter from site administrators regarding the quarantine, saying that recent months have seen an increase in "rule-breaking behavior" on the subreddit. That, according to the letter, led to Reddit administrators having to remove more posts and dealing with users violating the site's policy. The message notes a rise in the behavior recently in relation to Oregon Republican state senators who have fled the state to avoid voting on a climate bill.
The letter ends with administrators saying they will monitor the activity on the subreddit and determine the next course of action.
One moderator tweeted about the quarantine saying they were stripped of their ability to moderate the subreddit.
Reddit claims that The_Donald was quarantined because they have to spend too much time removing content on the subreddit. This is a report of everything they've "had" to do in the last month. (Including stripping me of my ability to do the job they're complainign about) pic.twitter.com/k2KLNmnOJJ
— /r/The_Donald (@thedonaldreddit) June 26, 2019
The_Donald subscribers are still able to post and comment like normal, but many are expressing frustration over the quarantine.
