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Reddit Banned Nazi Forums In Its Crackdown On Violent Rhetoric

Recently banned subreddits include /r/Nazi, /r/EuropeanNationalism and /r/NationalSocialism.
Posted at 8:01 PM, Oct 25, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-25 20:01:55-04

Reddit has begun a new wave of community bans, and it's homed in on violent subreddits. This notably encompasses groups that include Nazis and Nazi sympathizers.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Reddit's banned communities included /r/NationalSocialism/r/EuropeanNationalism,/r/far_right/r/DylannRoofInnocent and, of course, /r/Nazi.

The bans follow updates to rules regarding violent content. Reddit administrator landoflobsters wrote Wednesday: "Going forward, we will take action against any content that encourages, glorifies, incites, or calls for violence or physical harm against an individual or a group of people."

That administrator said the previous policy was "too vague," allowing violent groups and content to permeate the site.

Back in February, Reddit banned twoprominentalt-right subreddits for posting personal information. But other reported neo-Nazi groups, like the recently banned /r/EuropeanNationalism, were still allowed on the site.

This latest decision to ban violent far-right groups comes months after other websites and tech companies did the same. Surrounding the violent Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, white supremacist groups and so-called "alt-right" figures were booted from GoDaddy, Airbnb, Patreon and GoFundMe.