Reddit communities ban links to X: 'Tank that Nazi cesspool'

Numerous Reddit communities have banned links to X, with some also moving to restrict content from Meta, as social media continues to fragment.

“Would it make you smile if we banned all links to Twitter?” moderators of the popular subreddit r/MadeMeSmile asked their 11 million followers earlier this week, referring to Elon Musk's X platform by its old name.

The post had 114,000 upvotes at the time of publishing, and the most popular user responses included “yes” and “absolutely.” The subreddit is dedicated to “things that made you smile or brightened up your day.”

Musk, who was accused of making a fascist salute at President Donald Trump’s inauguration rally – a claim he denied – does not fall into that category, according to many followers of the subreddit.

“Tank that Nazi cesspool,” read one response, reflecting criticism that Musk has turned X into a platform amplifying right-wing views. “I literally don’t see how there will ever be another fair election unless people quit the brainwashing platforms,” noted another user.

If the motion passed, any comments that contain links to X would be “automatically” removed, moderators said.

Some Redditors noted that “censorship is dumb” and warned it would lead to “another left echo chamber.” However, such views appeared to be in the minority in communities across the platform.

‘Major shift’ in social media dynamics

The Formula 1 subreddit, followed by almost 5 million users, announced it banned all content from X, not just links, from being posted on its forums. It said it would only make an exception for screenshots of “relevant” posts by teams, drivers, and Formula 1 that are not available on any other platform.

The moderators said they were enforcing the ban for a trial period, noting that “mods sometimes make bad decisions” and may review it in the future to avoid "unintended consequences.”

Still, they said they intended to make the ban permanent and urged Formula 1 journalists, creators, photographers, and other personalities to make their content available on alternative platforms such as Bluesky.

“There’s no doubt that over the past years, Twitter has become a low-quality source: the login requirements, the flood of bots, the prioritization of content from paying users and promotion of sensationalist content,” the moderators said in a post.

The community now “prefers” viable alternatives such as Bluesky, they said. According to Flynn Zaiger, who runs the Reddit marketing agency Online Optimism, the movement starting in sports communities is “particularly notable.”

“These are some of the most active, engaged communities on Reddit. When sports content creators, who historically relied heavily on quick Twitter/X updates, start looking for alternative platforms, it signals a major shift in social media dynamics,” Zaiger said.

Is Meta next?

Some Reddit communities have also moved to ban links and restrict content from Meta-owned platforms – Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Users cited similar concerns they had about X, with many taking issue with Meta’s direction after Trump’s presidential win.

“Meta is evil,” said one Redditor on r/TwoXChromosomes, a subreddit with 14 million members.

The moderators of the community “intended for women’s perspectives” banned links and screenshots of both X and Meta platforms to “help us keep the sexists and TERFs out – not just Mark and Elon.” TERF stands for trans-exclusionary radical feminists who reject trans women as women.

Meta ended its diversity and fact-checking initiatives in the United States following Trump’s election, while its chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, adopted talking points tailored to appeal to the new president.

Zuckerberg said fact-checking would be replaced with X-style “community notes” because content moderation has “gone too far” and later claimed that tech companies need more “masculine energy” despite women accounting for just 35% of the tech workforce, with only 11% in executive roles.

Cybernews could not reach X for comment, while Meta has not responded to a request for a statement as of the time of publication. According to Zaiger, the digital marketing expert, the trend suggests a “new age of social media fragmentation.”

“Rather than a few dominant platforms controlling the flow of information, we're likely to see more specialized platforms and communities setting their own rules about content sharing and platform interaction,” he said.

What does Reddit have to say about it?

In an email to Cybernews, Reddit stressed that the trend was user-driven and that the platform “has no ban on X links.” It hosts over 100,000 active communities covering a wide range of topics and they are free to enforce their own rules, according to the company.

“Notably, many Reddit communities also prohibit Reddit links,” a Reddit spokesperson said, adding that there are “plenty” of links to X still available on the platform.

“Reddit has a longstanding commitment to freedom of speech and freedom of association,” the spokesperson said.

According to Reddit, some communities may ban social media links either because they are irrelevant to the content they host or because moderators are concerned about sharing personally identifiable information (PII) without consent.