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Elon Musk directly pressured Reddit CEO to ban r/WhitePeopleTwitter, delete subreddit's DOGE post, and undo bans on X links, new report reveals.

This is a follow-up in part to the drama surrounding the WhitePeopleTwitter ban that occurred on February 3rd, 2025 after the personal info of DOGE staffers was published in that sub, as well as the bans on X links that were enforced in multiple subreddits at the time following Elon Musk's Nazi salute.

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What was known at the time was that, on February 3rd, Musk retweeted another X account's screenshot showing death threats being made against DOGE staffers in a WhitePeopleTwitter post, replying: "They have broken the law". That in turn was screen-shotted and posted to WhitePeopleTwitter.

That same day, the user who made the DOGE post was suspended, the thread was deleted, and the entire subreddit was banned for three days with the message:

>This subreddit has been temporarily banned due to a prevalence of violent content. Inciting and glorifying violence or doxing are against Reddit's platform-wide Rules. It will reopen in 72 hours, during which Reddit will support moderators and provide resources to keep Reddit a healthy place for discussion and debate.

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Today, an article posted in The Verge by editor Alex Heath reveals the Musk was directly behind the subreddit's ban as well as the removal of the thread and all of its comments (which Heath directly posted an archive link of) that Musk shared on X:

>As it turns out, Musk wasn't only using his X platform to call out content on Reddit. He was also privately messaging Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, according to people familiar with the matter.

>Shortly after the two CEOs exchanged text messages, Reddit enacted a 72-hour ban on the "WhitePeopleTwitter" subreddit that hosted the thread about DOGE employees, citing the "prevalence of violent content." The specific thread Musk shared on X was also deleted, including hundreds of comments that didn't call for violence or doxxing.

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The article also says that few Reddit moderators at the time were made aware of Musk's chat with the Reddit CEO, and discussed the matter in Groomercord.

One such moderator implied that Musk also wanted the subreddit bans on X links lifted, after Musk had tweeted about the bans prior to the WhitePeopleTwitter incident:

>After one wrote, "Musk is coming for r / Comics," which was one of the subreddits that was banning links to X, another responded by calling him a "giant baby," according to screenshots of the conversation that were shared with me.

>"Elon called out death threats," wrote another Reddit moderator. "He should not be able to influence Reddit, but if what he calls out is death threats then of course they need to come down."

>Yet another responded: "Oh, I don't have any problem with removing rule-breaking content (and taking the respective admin action on said accounts), but I find it a bit problematic that he's able to exert influence on both public and private institutions."

The lifting of bans on X links, ultimately, did not come to pass:

>So far, Reddit doesn't appear to have intervened in any moderator decisions to ban X links from the subreddits they oversee.

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The Verge's article has been shared in multiple subreddits whose comment sections can be viewed below:

Technology: https://old.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/1jl7jtp/elon_musk_pressured_reddits_ceo_on_content/

NoShitSherlock: https://old.reddit.com/r/NoShitSherlock/comments/1jl6wgo/elon_musk_pressured_reddits_ceo_on_content/

Collapse: https://old.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/1jl7zns/elon_musk_pressured_reddits_ceo_on_content/

Fauxmoi: https://old.reddit.com/r/Fauxmoi/comments/1jlai3x/elon_musk_pressured_reddits_ceo_on_content/

Politics*: https://old.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/1jl6smd/elon_musk_pressured_reddits_ceo_on_content/

*r / politics mods deleted their post due to it allegedly not covering US politics despite gathering over 33K upmarseys.


https://old.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/1jljn4y/elon_musk_directly_pressured_reddit_ceo_to_ban/

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The entire point of posting the personal info of the DOGE grunts was to spark harassment and try to run the cancel playbook. Hilariously it's actual stochastic terrorism, considering how many people are going aggro on Teslas.

So a boss is using his influence to protect his employees. And a CEO is using his influence to protect his company's interests. Just like Mussolini did.

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Lmao I'd be fine with all of them being jailed for the rest of their lives at this point. absolute worst fricking sub-human trash in this country.

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>muh stochastic terrorism :chudjakcry: :chudjakcry: :chudjakcry:

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Will no one rid me of these turbulent chuds?

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>ledditors fedpost

>get asked to please stop

>sperg out even harder

:#marseyangel: :#soysnooseethe: :#elonsalute:

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I want him to buy reddit :marseywholesome: so badly I want to see the meltdowns!

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1743191492CK_vRQLHgopAVQ.webp https://i.rdrama.net/images/17431914944wA4DCSYbxb73g.webp https://i.rdrama.net/images/1743191494oYCpzs9-Lmhesg.webp https://i.rdrama.net/images/1743191494kfMmvvB_4WAeJQ.webp https://i.rdrama.net/images/1743191495hKJPrixMRG7Jzw.webp https://i.rdrama.net/images/17431914951HVZGBHXSW66ZQ.webp https://i.rdrama.net/images/1743191496jQ63ChYl_aX05g.webp https://i.rdrama.net/images/1743191496SfJIknOFxukamA.webp

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EDS is a mental illness :#marseyelonpaypig:

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So ... a subreddit got banned for breaking the law? And the victim of the lawbreaking had a hand in suggesting it get banned? Shock! IMAGINE it working EXACTLY LIKE IT IS SUPPOSED TO WORK

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@J can we make it so crosstalk always harasses /u/spez when we ping

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Y'all remember when Biden staffers pressured Facebook and Twitter to remove content the administration didn't like and that was totes cool because it was being done in good faith?

:marseyreapcrying:

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Musk isn't a government employee :smugjak:

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You're fricking r-slurred. Andy Slavitt was the White House "advisor" that sent threatening emails to Facebook to remove Covid memes he didn't like. He was brought in to the Administration for 6 months to be the face of Biden's Covid response. Un-elected and unconfirmed by the senate, just an advisor.

Sound familiar?

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He doesn't have a botched peepee though.

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i thought elon was the head of doge

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this isn't a trump staffer though

this is a huge cute twink

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:#soysnootypefast:

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:chudtantrum#fastertalking:

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i know death threats are illegal but idk if this ever got enforced on behalf of public figures til now

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"True threats of violence" that are directed at a person or group of persons that have the intent of placing the target at risk of bodily harm or death are generally unprotected. However, there are several exceptions. For example, the Supreme Court has held that "threats may not be punished if a reasonable person would understand them as obvious hyperbole",

it is illegal to knowingly and willfully make "any threat to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm upon the president of the United States." This law is distinct from other forms of true threats because the threatener does not need to have the actual capability to carry out the threat

So no, it is not illegal to say that I want to shoot Elon Musk in the face in Minecraft !lawyers but it would be to say that about the president

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people are starting to go a little hogwild on the internet. it makes sense that the tech class is corralling the masses. also it's very important to note the Pentaon has been doing this type of foolishness in east asia for a while. during covid there was a lot of tilting the scale against Chinese vaxs in Philippines by them. Reuters ran a great article about the Pentagon and Sinovoc.

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Still imagining a world where Musk buys Reddit

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we must meme it into existence

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Lot of people dancing around the fact that WhitePeopleTwitter was indeed trying to dox and threaten Musk's employees.

I guess double standards are nothing new for Redditors

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>Reddit

>Doxxing

Odds are they'd get someone from Toyota instead

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We did it, Reddit!


Putting the :e: in spookie turkey merry new year donkey

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Yes but it was being done in good faith against Nazis

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remember this the next time you post bardfinn's real name

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Jokes on Bardy, I don't even know what Steve's new name is meant to be.

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Private company, sweaty. They can do what they want :marseynails:

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THEY'RE ONE OF THE GOOD GUYS :#soyjakyell:

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!eurochads burgers unironically support this

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Oh wow first time reddit has caved in to outside pressure

:#marseyjerkoffsmile:

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according to people familiar with the matter

https://i.rdrama.net/images/1743139350qAEC4BE1LO5k4g.webp

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Personally I think a far more likely source would be the power of wishful thinking

at least if you're trying to write reddit catnip

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>Elon Musk bullied Redditors

:#waowbased: :#marseywaowbased: :#marseymeowbased:

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This shit is just gay and lame

On the other hand, if he had had a massive shipment of defective lithium batteries :marseyflamewar: delivered to the Reddit HQ :marseydarkrose2: :marseywaowbased:

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How is it lame? Reddit jannies are suffering and the Twitter boycott made subs worse. It's a win-win.

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Does the Twitter boycott do more than filter dogshit content

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The dogshit content isliterally just reposted onto a Bluesky account or an even more cancerous blogspot site that aggregates several Tweets in articles.

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This and more horrors await once the WWW is broken up

God darnit I was having a good day

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I didn't read any of the particulars :marseygigaretardpat:, but I'd hope I'd have more entertaining things to do with my time than ask for reddit content takedowns if I had Musk money

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>"directly pressured"

>look inside

>asked him nicely

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Power difference means it was literally r*pe :marseypearlclutch2:

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Show me your bussy please https://media.tenor.com/acU28-Gj1W0AAAAx/jack-nicholson-jack.webp

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Hey, that's serious harassment! Spez feared for his life

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That's it take away his ketamine

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LegoYoda was one of the few good subs.

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elmo sure loves muh free speech, except not that !freespeech!

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Hate speech is not free speech, it's a private company sweetie :marseysmug2:

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:#marseynorm:

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:#marseyschizotripping:

Snapshots:

drama surrounding the WhitePeopleTwitter ban:

enforced in multiple subreddits:

screen-shotted and posted to WhitePeopleTwitter:

an article posted in The Verge:

directly posted an archive link of:

tweeted about the bans:

https://old.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/1jl7jtp/elon_musk_pressured_reddits_ceo_on_content/:

https://old.reddit.com/r/NoShitSherlock/comments/1jl6wgo/elon_musk_pressured_reddits_ceo_on_content/:

https://old.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/1jl7zns/elon_musk_pressured_reddits_ceo_on_content/:

https://old.reddit.com/r/Fauxmoi/comments/1jlai3x/elon_musk_pressured_reddits_ceo_on_content/:

https://old.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/1jl6smd/elon_musk_pressured_reddits_ceo_on_content/:

https://old.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/1jljn4y/elon_musk_directly_pressured_reddit_ceo_to_ban/:

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