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Elon Musk allegedly lobbied Reddit’s CEO Steve Huffman to remove content critical of his Department of Government Efficiency, sources say.
Musk, who has previously touted himself as a “free speech absolutist,” said he purchased X in 2022, in part, to reinstate accounts that had been banned for posting hateful content.
As Musk publicly rallied against dozens of Reddit communities blocking links from X over his Sieg Heil controversy in January, sources told The Verge that the tech billionaire was also privately messaging Huffman.
After exchanging messages, Reddit enacted a three-day ban on the “WhitePeopleTwitter,” which hosted a thread apparently threatening DOGE employees, who were involved in dismantling departments and slashing federal funding while also gaining access to highly sensitive personal information. Reddit cited the “prevalence of violent content” for its decision.
“Over the last few days, we’ve seen an increase in content in several communities that violate Reddit Rules,” Reddit said in a post it made following the WhitePeopleTwitterBan. “Debate and dissent are welcome on Reddit—threats and doxing are not.”
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The news of Musk and Huffman’s alleged interaction reached several Reddit moderators on the social platform Discord. One moderator called Musk a “giant baby” after another stated he was “coming for” another subreddit banning X links, according to an exchange reviewed by the outlet.
It does not appear that Reddit has intervened in any moderator decisions to ban X links from being posted in subreddits.
A Reddit spokesperson did not directly address Musk and Huffman’s alleged correspondence after being probed by The Verge.
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“We take any report of Reddit policy violations seriously, whether on Reddit directly or through other public or private means,” they said. “We will evaluate content reported to us and take action if violating.”
In late January, Musk retweeted an X post from a disgruntled Reddit user who claimed that the platform was “anti-free speech.” The Reddit user alleged they had been given a lifetime ban after sharing content from X in a subreddit, which they said was frowned upon because “Musk gave a Nazi salute.”
“This is insane,” Musk wrote.
A few days later, Musk posted that Reddit users who were advocating for violence against DOGE employees had “broken the law.” The subreddit was banned soon after.
