In a blow to Big Tech, Reddit is refusing to censor so-called “misinformation” about COVID-19, instead choosing to allow “debate, dissent, and protest.”
The online platform is well-known for its users who have anonymous usernames to discuss a wide range of topics, such as politics, sports, video games and more.
Reddit has previously faced criticism for caving to the left and censoring content, including banning "r/The_Donald, r/ChapoTrapHouse, and about 2,000 other communities," according to The Verge June 29, 2020. The platform also suspended over 7,000 subreddits for alleged “hate” content, despite Reddit's acknowledgement that it is not always able to identify precisely what "hate" means.
Now, Reddit is going against the recent social media platform trends that censor alleged misinformation about COVID-19 and its vaccines. Reddit Co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman said in a statement that "dissent" is a big part of the platform and "the foundation of democracy.”
“We appreciate that not everyone agrees with the current approach to getting us all through the pandemic, and some are still wary of vaccinations,” a statement posted by Huffman reads, adding:
Dissent is a part of Reddit and the foundation of democracy. Reddit is a place for open and authentic discussion and debate. This includes conversations that question or disagree with popular consensus. This includes conversations that criticize those that disagree with the majority opinion. This includes protests that criticize or object to our decisions on which communities to ban from the platform.
Huffman continued later in the statement:
When it comes to COVID-19 specifically, what we know and what are the current best practices from authoritative sources, like the CDC, evolve continuously with new learnings. Given the rapid state of change, we believe it is best to enable communities to engage in debate and dissent, and for us to link to the CDC wherever appropriate. While we believe the CDC is the best and most up to date source of information regarding COVID-19, disagreeing with them is not against our policies.
The news came after Facebook said it would censor so-called COVID-19 misinformation after pressure from the Biden administration mounted.
Platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have been under immense pressure from the left to censor any and all posts that purportedly contain “misinformation” about the coronavirus. Indeed, President Joe Biden blamed Facebook for "killing people" by allowing what his administration deemed “misinformation” to spread on the platform.
"There's about 12 people who are producing 65% of anti-vaccine misinformation on social media platforms," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said at the time.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact the Reddit admin and demand that the platform mirror the First Amendment: Tech giants should afford their users nothing less than the free speech and free exercise of religion embodied in the First Amendment as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court. If you have been censored, contact us at the Media Research Center contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
