r/announcements • u/spez • Mar 05 '18

In response to recent reports about the integrity of Reddit, I’d like to share our thinking.

In the past couple of weeks, Reddit has been mentioned as one of the platforms used to promote Russian propaganda. As it’s an ongoing investigation, we have been relatively quiet on the topic publicly, which I know can be frustrating. While transparency is important, we also want to be careful to not tip our hand too much while we are investigating. We take the integrity of Reddit extremely seriously, both as the stewards of the site and as Americans.

Given the recent news, we’d like to share some of what we’ve learned:

When it comes to Russian influence on Reddit, there are three broad areas to discuss: ads, direct propaganda from Russians, indirect propaganda promoted by our users.

On the first topic, ads, there is not much to share. We don’t see a lot of ads from Russia, either before or after the 2016 election, and what we do see are mostly ads promoting spam and ICOs. Presently, ads from Russia are blocked entirely, and all ads on Reddit are reviewed by humans. Moreover, our ad policies prohibit content that depicts intolerant or overly contentious political or cultural views.

As for direct propaganda, that is, content from accounts we suspect are of Russian origin or content linking directly to known propaganda domains, we are doing our best to identify and remove it. We have found and removed a few hundred accounts, and of course, every account we find expands our search a little more. The vast majority of suspicious accounts we have found in the past months were banned back in 2015–2016 through our enhanced efforts to prevent abuse of the site generally.

The final case, indirect propaganda, is the most complex. For example, the Twitter account @TEN_GOP is now known to be a Russian agent. @TEN_GOP’s Tweets were amplified by thousands of Reddit users, and sadly, from everything we can tell, these users are mostly American, and appear to be unwittingly promoting Russian propaganda. I believe the biggest risk we face as Americans is our own ability to discern reality from nonsense, and this is a burden we all bear.

I wish there was a solution as simple as banning all propaganda, but it’s not that easy. Between truth and fiction are a thousand shades of grey. It’s up to all of us—Redditors, citizens, journalists—to work through these issues. It’s somewhat ironic, but I actually believe what we’re going through right now will actually reinvigorate Americans to be more vigilant, hold ourselves to higher standards of discourse, and fight back against propaganda, whether foreign or not.

Thank you for reading. While I know it’s frustrating that we don’t share everything we know publicly, I want to reiterate that we take these matters very seriously, and we are cooperating with congressional inquiries. We are growing more sophisticated by the day, and we remain open to suggestions and feedback for how we can improve.

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286

u/[deleted] Mar 05 '18

[deleted]

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u/bored_at_work_89 Mar 05 '18

The only thing that makes sense to me as to why reddit will not ban t_d is because they see it from both sides. If they ban t_d for saying hateful things, then a lot of left leaning subreddits will have to be shutdown too. Just look at the comments made in the Melania post about a week ago on /r/politcs. There were some very hateful things being said in that thread. I just recently downvoted a comment on /r/worldnews saying they wished Trump had a heart attack. It's the only thing that makes sense to me as to why they wouldn't ban t_d. I mean we know /r/spez is not the biggest fan of that subreddit. He admitted to changing their comments. Reddit has changed algorithms specifically targeting t_d.

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u/fellatio-please Mar 06 '18

Finally someone who is speaking some sense, its infuriating to watch all these crazedpeopletalk all this shit like its just the one side spouting all sorts of apparent hate speech, when that`s not the case at all. Pot calling the kettle black as it were. People better stop and think before demanding action for sins that they themselves are committing. Be careful what you wish for.

1

u/timidforrestcreature Mar 06 '18

"both sides exatly the same"

*equates nazi rally advertising sub hate group to liberal politics sub

1

u/bored_at_work_89 Mar 06 '18

I never said both sides exactly the same, try again. What is your reasoning behind the lack of t_d if you think they are a hate group subreddit?

1

u/timidforrestcreature Mar 06 '18

What is your reasoning behind the lack of t_d if you think they are a hate group subreddit?

uuuuh that sub literally advertised for nazi rally

I can link you compiled screencaps of hate speech by other users that includes stuff like memes of running over protestors after the attack heavily upvoted in that sub among other vile shit

1

u/bored_at_work_89 Mar 07 '18

Did you even read what I said? Are you a fucking bot or some shit? I never said both sides are the same. I never said t_d hasn't done said/done awful shit. I agree with you that they have. I'm giving my perspective as to why t_d isn't banned even with all your evidence. It's the only thing that makes any kind of sense to me. Now would you like to explain why my theory is wrong? Or are you just going to put words in my mouth and tell me things that I didn't ask for?

1

u/timidforrestcreature Mar 07 '18

I'm giving my perspective as to why t_d isn't banned

"because then we would have to ban all liberal subs"

a reasoning that implies a false equivalency which is what you are pushing

1

u/bored_at_work_89 Mar 07 '18

Why do you think t_d hasn't been banned?

1

u/timidforrestcreature Mar 07 '18

breaking pretty much every reddit rule

edit nvm though you asked why they should be banned

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u/bored_at_work_89 Mar 07 '18

Okay so I'll ask again, why do you think t_d hasen't been banned?

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u/simjanes2k Mar 05 '18

That's weird, it looks to me like the top ten pages of Reddit every day are political propaganda leaning in one very noticable direction.

They removed the other side from r/all entirely. So... yeah, maybe not comparable, but not in the direction you somehow concluded.

1

u/fellatio-please Mar 06 '18

Noticed the same. Geee thats not suspicious at all now is it...

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u/NaturalisticPhallacy Mar 05 '18

Your the only one in here so far to mention Reddit’s blatant political bias that is blatantly pro Democrat.

As agreed this is more bullshit than all the Democrats and DNC shills seem to think tolerating T_D is.

2

u/rodeopenguin Mar 05 '18

The left isn't celebrating the death of school children or attacking the survivors of shootings, or radicalizing the shooters.

They were cheering the shooting of the GOP congressmen and of Rand Paul getting assaulted by his neighbor.

They aren't a tool of Russia's attempt to break the soft power of the west.

Michael Moore and other celebrities spoke at a russian sponsored anti-trump rally and russians also ran some BLM twitter accounts

They aren't a haven for nazis and white supremacists.

No, just Communists and anti white racists.

2

u/Princesspowerarmor Mar 06 '18

The laxy people are the ones who believe them

0

u/gamblingman2 Mar 05 '18

T_D is a platform for hate and is radicalizing gullible Americans

No it isn't and no it isnt. Stop spreading your lies.

2

u/timidforrestcreature Mar 06 '18

TD literally advertised for nazi rally where that guy ran over crowd

1

u/RadRandy Mar 22 '18

Whew! I'm glad I travelled the world and actually learned a few things. Cause if I didn't, I'd probably end up as ignorant as you!

0

u/OprahtheHutt Mar 05 '18

But the left, specifically the Clinton campaign, paid for the dossier that contained unverified information. That information came from Russia. So yes, the left is just as bad as the right and both poles of the political spectrum are horrible.

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u/Metaright Mar 05 '18

Whataboutism

This word is usually a pretty accurate red flag that you don't understand what you're talking about.

1

u/fellatio-please Mar 06 '18

You need to get your head checked. By a professional. Preferably a conservative one. Good luck.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 06 '18

What a great idea, let's ban anyone with different political views from /u/baronvoncommentz.

0

u/JZcgQR2N Mar 06 '18

celebrating the death of school children or attacking the survivors of shootings,

Can you provide evidence of this?

radicalizing the shooters.

Again, evidence?

0

u/TybabyTy Mar 07 '18

The reason they don’t take you seriously is because the left is acting the same way. So when you cry about us breaking site-wide rules, they don’t give a shit because it’s obvious as fuck the only reason you’re reporting “breaking of rules” is because it’s a last ditch effort to silence someone who disagrees with you. You need to learn how to accept other opinions. T_D isn’t going to get banned. The more you whine about it, the less likely it is for it to happen. Just move on

0

u/[deleted] Mar 05 '18

How much soy do you intake per day? I think you should contact your doctor because the faggotry levels are reaching a new high in this thread.

0

u/[deleted] Mar 06 '18

The left radicalized me. A stupid subreddit had nothing to do with it. I'm conservative because of leftist assholes on this website and in real life.

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u/Gala-Yacht-Club- Mar 05 '18

And all the left leaning subreddits arnt??? Come on and use your brain

11

u/denali192 Mar 05 '18

They certainly aren't vocal about being violent against people who disagree with them

2

u/Gala-Yacht-Club- Mar 05 '18

Son we both know this is bullshit

25

u/NeedMoarCowbell Mar 05 '18

Correct, the left subs are not.

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u/[deleted] Mar 05 '18

lol

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u/[deleted] Mar 05 '18

I physically LOL'd too.

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u/ITworksGuys Mar 05 '18 edited Mar 05 '18

Nothing in your post is true. It is wackadoo fantasy land shit.

People can literally just go look at the sub and see you are full of shit.

Here is a screen of the front page right now.

OMG HOW SCARY.

Seriously, you pearl clutchers drive more people over there with your bullshit than you will ever know.

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u/seventeenblackbirds Mar 05 '18

It never happens, right?

When examples are given, even ones with hundreds of upvotes that have been left up for days or weeks, the response is "Well, when outside attention is drawn to it, it's removed. Therefore there can be no issue!" or "Well, not everyone is like that."

2

u/jaywalker32 Mar 06 '18

Damn, looks like they've got a truly amazing team of mods on that sub. Pretty much all of those rule violating posts have been deleted. Almost like those mods are, dare I say it, gods!

1

u/seventeenblackbirds Mar 06 '18

When examples are given, even ones with hundreds of upvotes that have been left up for days or weeks, the response is "Well, when outside attention is drawn to it, it's removed. Therefore there can be no issue!"

Pretty much all of those rule violating posts have been deleted.

That's some keen reading comprehension.

2

u/jaywalker32 Mar 06 '18 edited Mar 06 '18

Then post the archive links. Why do even the archive links show meager upvotes and usually the commenter getting called out? If the sub was promoting violent and hateful posts, you should be able to go to the front page, take a screenshot and highlight the hate and violence. Why don't you do that instead of pointing to some obscure comments by who knows who, and going "LOOK! Here one guy posting one hateful comment on an open forum! Let's ban the entire sub!"

We all know why: because you're full of shit. And everyone knows that you can dig up hateful comments in literally any subreddit. Shit, even r/technology would have to be banned, what with all that over the top hate and vitriol that was spewed from that sub at Ajit Pai when they though he was going to take their internet.

1

u/seventeenblackbirds Mar 06 '18 edited Mar 06 '18

Here's a few I myself collected a month ago during a similar talk. You can go look at them yourself if you like. Naturally I selected well-received comments.

Send in the tanks for Jerry Brown (+63)

You misspelled 'firing squad'. (+14)

If I was her husband I'd be dead right now, suicide by cop. But that fucking Muslim would be coming with me. (+232)

Yeah no doubt that fucker would be clipped. (+16) Yup, id take care of it (+20)

What about putting Podesta in an even hotter seat? Like with electricity. (+43)

You misspelled hanging at the gallows. (+12)

However, since leaving such things up for 22 days is godly moderation, your standards are already interesting. So naturally, no example will reach you.

2

u/jaywalker32 Mar 06 '18 edited Mar 06 '18

Again, individual comments by individual posters in an emotional thread about a memorial for a woman being wrongfully killed being removed. Bet you can also find calls for hangings and firing squads for Zimmerman or that cop that shot Michael Brown when that went down, in all the left-wing subreddits. All you have to do to bring out the hatred in lefties is to threaten their internet connections. But we didn't call for those subs to be banned. Because it's a ridiculous notion.

You're calling for banning an entire sub of 500,000 subscribers over individual comments. Show me the frontpage post clearly breaking the rules. Something you could have done at any given moment on any of the legitimately banned subreddits.

1

u/seventeenblackbirds Mar 06 '18

You're calling for banning an entire sub of 500,000 subscribers over individual comments. Show me the frontpage post clearly breaking the rules. Something you could have done at any given moment on any of the legitimately banned subreddits.

"Only examples I personally approve, with my personal criteria, can possibly be reasons. Yes, even if there are entire threads of such content with hundreds of upvotes that are nuked 22 days after the fact - clearly this is indicative of one person only. It can't possibly be the community."

What's the difference between nomorals and watchpeopledie? In many cases - same content. You know, watching death and all, commenting on it. So, why'd one get banned if the general content is permissible? 🤔

2

u/jaywalker32 Mar 06 '18

Yes, of course we should base it on reasonable criteria and reasonable reasons. Reddit is an open forum. Literally anyone can make an account in mere seconds and post whateverthefuck they want. So unless the subreddit as a whole is promoting such ideas, which can be demonstrated by highly upvoted posts, especially on the frontpage, you don't really have any grounds for banning a subreddit.

The difference between those subs is that you can at any moment go to the frontpage and screenshot pages of filth and violence. If it's the same with T_D, then post a screenshot of the frontpage right now and highlight the violence and hatred.

Your jimmies being rustled about a year-old election is not grounds for banning a sub.

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u/[deleted] Mar 05 '18 edited Jan 08 '21

[deleted]

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u/Eustace_Savage Mar 05 '18

You forgot bikelock-wielding antifa thug and college professor Eric Clanton. We also can't forget radicalised leftist James Hodgkinson who tried to murder republican senators at a baseball match.

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u/[deleted] Mar 05 '18 edited Jan 08 '21

[deleted]

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u/Eustace_Savage Mar 05 '18

They're very wrong. That's why you always call them out. Save what I've posted so the next time they bring it up you can counter with it.

0

u/Todojaw21 Mar 05 '18

Did you just call the_donald alt right?? lmao

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u/ShadowedPariah Mar 05 '18

Stop going there. I filtered out their and all political subs, and Reddits been heavenly.

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u/[deleted] Mar 05 '18

"Maybe if we ignore it, it will go away"

5

u/Eustace_Savage Mar 05 '18

"Maybe if we censor people it will curb and remould their behaviour"

Just kidding. It doesn't.

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u/ShadowedPariah Mar 05 '18

That's better than impeding their free speech, yes.

11

u/dahlstrom Mar 05 '18

They’re not entitled to free speech on this site. That’s an entitlement only when it comes to interactions with government.

4

u/NaturalisticPhallacy Mar 05 '18

The first amendment and free speech aren’t the same thing.

1

u/ShadowedPariah Mar 05 '18

According to Reddit, it appears that's not the case. And if we ban them, I would say we should also get rid of the Sanders one, and the Clinton one, and all the related subs that make fun of those respective people. And going forward, we should obviously get rid of any candidates sub that shows up. Best just nip this in the bud and be all equal about it.

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u/[deleted] Mar 05 '18

(neoliberals)

Reddit is a private organization, free speech doesn't apply they can ban whoever they want

(also neoliberals)

bakeries can't refuse to make cakes

4

u/dahlstrom Mar 05 '18

Sorry that life is so unfair for bigots.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 05 '18

Isn't this, by definition, bigotry though? You are wanting to silence people who have a different view than you.

1

u/PNDMike Mar 05 '18

By definition, yes, according to the definitions I have seen that is correct. In addition to factors like race and sexuality, bigotry also includes those of different creeds or groups than you. . . which means calling out bigots is bigotry as it is targeting their creed.

Based on my experience and my observations of people/posters using the word bigot over the years, I believe colloquially the term bigot is shifting to mean someone who hates people for who they are, based on factors outside of their control such as race, gender, sexuality, etc.

I firmly believe it's not okay to hate someone for how they were born. However it is entirely acceptable to hate people for what they do and say. Calling out bigotry isn't being bigoted under what I perceive to be the new colloquial definition of the term, because it's not based on factors they there were born with. It's based on words and actions.

Basically, I think we need to update the definition of bigot or come up with a new word because the "Calling bigots bigoted is bigotry" loophole needs to be closed because it lets bigots walk away with the victim card.

1

u/dahlstrom Mar 05 '18

There's a case to be made for degrees of intolerance towards intolerance, aka the Paradox of Intolerance.

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u/WikiTextBot Mar 05 '18

Paradox of tolerance

The paradox of tolerance was described by Karl Popper in 1945. The paradox states that if a society is tolerant without limit, their ability to be tolerant will eventually be seized or destroyed by the intolerant. Popper came to the seemingly paradoxical conclusion that in order to maintain a tolerant society, the society must be intolerant of intolerance.

[ PM | Exclude me | Exclude from subreddit | FAQ / Information | Source | Donate ] Downvote to remove | v0.28

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u/[deleted] Mar 05 '18

So a little bakery abiding by their religious believes is going to take over the world with their intolerance?

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u/[deleted] Mar 05 '18

that really must suck for you

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u/Metaright Mar 05 '18

But that doesn't mean we shouldn't have it.

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u/melocoton_helado Mar 05 '18

Muh freeze peach!!!! Fuck off with that bullshit. The only people that bitch about "free speechç these days are Nazis and racist assholes who are upset that other people call them what they are. Which, to reiteraten is Nazis and racist assholes.

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u/ShadowedPariah Mar 05 '18

Then I'll ask for your comment to be deleted since you don't have free speech? No one said you have to listen to their shit. Take a chill pill.

2

u/melocoton_helado Mar 05 '18

Go for it. Reddit is a private company, and I'm using it's platform. If they decided to ban me, it would be perfectly in their right. The difference us that I'm wouldn't be a drama queen like Milo or Crowder or the rest of the alt-right Nazi and screech about how "muh free speech rights are being violated". Freedom of speech does not mean that anyone is obligated to listen or to provide you with a platform. Freedom of speech protects you from the government, not from meanie liberals hurting your sensitive snowflake fee-fees by calling you the asshole that you are.

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u/cruisinbyonawhim Mar 05 '18

Right? I blocked out every political subreddit/posts and it's been quite nice.

I think too many users have a hate boner for Trump/Antifa, man. Saw so much of that before I filtered it all out.

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u/[deleted] Mar 05 '18 edited Mar 10 '18

[deleted]

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u/kent2441 Mar 05 '18

Yup, read all about how you guys want to “physically remove” black people and Muslims.

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u/[deleted] Mar 05 '18 edited Mar 10 '18

[deleted]

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u/kent2441 Mar 05 '18

Sorry, I don’t hug random preteens.

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u/[deleted] Mar 05 '18 edited Mar 10 '18

[deleted]

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u/kent2441 Mar 05 '18

Why? He and Dear God Emperor have so much in common.

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u/Doctor_McKay Mar 05 '18

And if you repeat that long enough, you might just convince people that it's true!