A large number of communities, including several prominent LGBTQ+ subreddits across Reddit are currently choosing to ban links from X (formerly Twitter) after Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk twice made a Nazi salute during the presidential inauguration.
Musk dismissed the allegations, claiming that liberals were reaching by trying to categorize what he did as anything related to Hitler, writing on X, ”Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired.”
But Democrats, queer people, and those who oppose fascism across social media aren’t buying his explanation and have begun to have discussions and start petitions to ban linking back to X on various subreddits.
Users on the RuPaul’s Drag Race subreddit started a petition to ban X links that already had 27,000 upvotes at the time of publication. “It has come to our attention that X is operated by an individual with documented affiliations to Nazi ideology and hate groups,” the petition reads. “Allowing links to X on our subreddit indirectly endorses or amplifies the platform’s harmful messaging. This goes against /rupaulsdragrace’s commitment to fostering a safe and respectful environment for all members.”
The r/gay subreddit wasted no time and banned X links immediately after the inauguration. When a user on r/actuallesbians asked if the subreddit was planning on joining other parts of the Reddit community in an X ban, a moderator explained that “they already were prior to this event.”
When users on the r/lgbt subreddit expressed a desire to ban X links, the moderator said they were currently having discussions about it and would only continue to allow them because “some sources/screenshots with proof can only be found on Twitter still.”
It’s not just members of the queer community who are looking to ban Musk’s social media site from Reddit, r/whitepeopletwitter has already banned X links except for original posters who need to add a source to a screenshot, and r/blackpeopletwitter is recommending people make the switch to X competitor Bluesky.
Portland and Texas even seem to be in a rare agreement about Musk’s behavior, as both subreddits have already banned linking back to X.
Although Musk himself — and MAGA diehards across social media — continue to claim that the tech billionaire’s controversial salute was innocent, people all across the vast Reddit ecosystem don’t believe them and are now taking action to prevent X from having a home on their subreddits.
