Protests erupted across Reddit after critics claimed Elon Musk's gesture at President Trump's inauguration resembled a Nazi salute.
Moderators of the subreddit, which, like the NBA subreddit, runs topic-focused communities across the platform, said that group members were shouting at Musk to protest his controversial arm gesture. has banned people from posting links to X, the social media platform. According to a report from NBC News.
More than 50 subreddits (ranging in size from a few dozen members to millions, with at least 40 million total members across the community) issued bans this week, according to the report.
Communities typically have a large number of inactive members.
Reddit hosts approximately 100,000 active subreddits.
“Last night at Donald Trump's presidential inauguration, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and known alt-right figure, showed the world who he really is, not once but twice. also gave a full Sieg Heil Nazi salute,” the post announced. “Destiny 2” subreddit, online games.
A Reddit spokesperson stressed that the ban on X-Link was user-driven and not an official ban from the platform. Reddit has a long-standing commitment to free speech, a spokesperson told the Post.
At a rally after President Trump's inauguration, Musk gave a speech thanking the crowd for “making it happen.”
He placed his right hand on his chest and stretched his arm diagonally upwards, palm facing down. He turned around, repeated the gesture, and added: Thanks to you, the future of civilization is guaranteed. ”
“This man is definitely a neo-Nazi,” the “Destiny 2” host wrote, adding that members who post Nazi ideology or hate speech will be “immediately” blocked with no chance of appeal.
Moderators accused Musk of allowing blatantly racist posts to continue to appear on X and changing the platform's algorithms to promote “alt-right” content.
Musk called allegations that he gave a Nazi salute a “dirty trick” and “propaganda.”
The Anti-Defamation League, a nonprofit group that fights anti-Semitism, defended Musk on his own social media platforms.
“Mr. @elonmusk appears to have made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm rather than a Nazi salute,” the ADL wrote in a post to X on Monday.
“Thank you, everyone,” Musk responded with a crying-laughing emoji.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also claimed that Musk was being “unfairly maligned.”
Meanwhile, dozens of other subreddits are debating whether to join in on the ban.
of F1 racing subredditIt has announced that it will temporarily ban X-Link, which has 4.8 million members, and will permanently ban it in the future.
“Our main concern with a total ban is that while many F1 journalists are on Bluesky, teams, drivers and FOM are not,” the moderators wrote. Creators withdrawing from Musk-owned platform wrote while mentioning the welcome alternative to X.
“However, we also recognize that this is a chicken and egg issue and as a community of around 5 million people, we are aware that there are probably significant issues surrounding which platform is the native source of F1 news. It is having an impact,” the post said.
On Thursday, the Tesla and SpaceX founder again addressed the allegations: Post a joke about the Holocaust.
“Don't say Hess to Nazi accusations! Some people deny anything Goebbels!” Musk wrote.
“I bet you did the Nazi thing this time,” she added with another laughing emoji.
This time, the ADL voiced its opposition to the post.
“Telling inappropriate and deeply offensive jokes that trivialize the Holocaust trivializes the evil and inhumanity of the Nazi crimes and denigrates the suffering of both victims and survivors, including those killed in the Shoah. It only insults the memory of 6 million Jews.” Written by ADL.
