Reddit banning users for sharing Julie Bindel article

[Cwenthryth]

twitter.com/bindelj/status/1374372934379204608?s=21
Julie Bindel has shared on Twitter that Reddit is banning any mention or sharing of her Spectator article & banning users for discussion Aimee Challenor/Knight as well.

Here’s the spec article
www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-green-party-s-growing-contempt-for-women-s-rights

[DadDadDad]

Because Aimee is now employed by Reddit. Mods of this sub are not happy but forced to gag themselves: www.reddit.com/r/ukpolitics/comments/mbbm2c/welcome_back_subreddit_statement/

[Cwenthryth]

Here’s what the ukpolitics subreddit mods posted

As you will have noticed, the moderators set the subreddit to private last night. This is not a decision we took lightly, but one that was made to protect both the users and moderators of /r/ukpolitics.

A moderator posted an article from the Spectator - which contained a three-word mention, in passing, of a minor British public figure (expelled from both the Liberal Democrats and Green Party) - and was permanently suspended from Reddit (and later reinstated after we contacted the admins) for "doxxing" as a result.

As we had no idea what had happened, or why posting this article resulted in a permanent suspension, we took the emergency step of making the subreddit private and immediately contacting the admins for clarification. We took this step to protect both the users of the subreddit, and ourselves, from further action by the Reddit admin staff. It later became apparent that Reddit has hired this individual as an Reddit admin, and were banning people from discussing her past to protect their employee from harassment.

We would ask the following:

Please do not name this individual, at all. Doing so may result in your account being banned by the admins.
Please do not ask further questions about this, as doing so may result in your account being banned by the admins.
Please do not discuss this incident on Reddit publicly or privately (e.g. on private subreddits and/or in private messages, chat etc.), as doing so may result in your account being banned by the admins.
We are obviously extremely concerned by these developments, but cannot express our full dissatisfaction with Reddit on the platform at this time.

~the r/ukpolitics mods

This is really, really sinister stuff. Censoring to that extent....in a political discussion forum....wowza.

[gardenbird48]

isn't this going to achieve the Barbara Streisand effect??

Like banning Lady Chatterley's Lover and Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Relax - instant attention for the banned topic. Is this deliberate - I get so confused these days. All the information is publicly available so I don't understand why they are trying to suppress it.

I'm half expecting to ecosia search the subject of this article's name and all the entries on the internet will be gone.

[Wurrg]

@gardenbird48

isn't this going to achieve the Barbara Streisand effect??

Like banning Lady Chatterley's Lover and Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Relax - instant attention for the banned topic. Is this deliberate - I get so confused these days. All the information is publicly available so I don't understand why they are trying to suppress it.

I'm half expecting to ecosia search the subject of this article's name and all the entries on the internet will be gone.

Definitely! Whether it's on purpose or not who knows.

It's ridiculous.

[TheRabbitOfCaerbannog]

So their reaction is don't share the truth about our employee, rather than should we have concerns about this employee. Very NSPCC.

[Cwenthryth]

I can’t get over who thinks that threatening to ban people from a politics discussion group for mentioning events on the public record is a good look? Seriously who thinks like that? Are there no grown ups over there?

And the narcissim..... that article was not about any one particular individual until someone/their employer made it about them.

Next level stuff

[Zeev]

What is going on now on Reddit is really very sinister.

[Cwenthryth]

The modern “public square” is social media and online discussion forums - none of which are actually public, they’re owned and controlled by private individuals and corporations, and most of which seem to be beyond a lot of jurisdiction. We rely on the benevolence of whoever is running these sites for free some of speech and association in many ways. When they choose to discriminate against a particular group - how do you combat that?

I guess it’s just sunlight, more sunlight needed.

I’m really quite chilled by this. Not that I held any level of respect for Reddit previously. But seriously....next level. Is there no one in control at Reddit that thinks this is just not cricket?

[andyoldlabour]

I managed to link to some Reddit pages via some "farmers" , and it looks as though Reddit mods are playing "whack a mole" at the moment, as people are setting up threads left, right and centre, questioning why they are being censured, asking a lot of questions about the ex Green/LibDem person.

[BraveBananaBadge]

Have a couple of threads about it disappeared from here today or am I mixed up?

[Cwenthryth]

I’ve not seen any other discussion of this on here myself. I see someone bumped a 2019 discussion to the front page, I’m sure for no particular reason.

[Cwenthryth]

But worth considering how we discuss this for sure: the topic of discussion here is the censure and control aspect of Reddit’s actions - not the particular Reddit employee they are censoring people for mentioning, that person has already been discussed enough and doesn’t merit any further attention in my mind; any lurkers not familiar with their work I’m sure can piece together clues and follow through the link from Julie Bindel’s speccy article and on Twitter, if you really don’t know the backstory.

[ErrolTheDragon]

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

...who moderates (or hires in the first place) the moderators on social media platforms?

[NecessaryScene1]

I saw one thread and a TAAT deleted today - don't expect this one to last long if you start talking about the individual involved.

[allmywhat]

I wish someone could drop the information about Challenor being involved in the Girl Guides safeguarding guidelines and the Stonewall Trans Advisory Group.

[allmywhat]

I actually have a Reddit account but can’t think of a way to drop the clues without being banned. Maybe Glinner could update his post? A lot of people seem to be finding that.

[TheRabbitOfCaerbannog]

We are very much in the Wild West when it comes to social media. It is a goldmine for vested interests.

[StocksAndScares]

This thread will be gone within the hour sadly

[MaudTheInvincible]

I really don't understand the Reddit stance on this. Has anything new happened lately? Surely that tiny mention in the Speccy article isn't the cause? I'm a bit baffled by all the fuss. I mean, according to another site the mods have had to do this to protect the users!!

[NecessaryScene1]

The person in question became an admin in the last few weeks. And has been on a massive clean-up operation since getting that power.

A UK politics moderator unknowingly posted that Spectator article, into which Julie Bindel (accidentally or deliberately?) had planted that teeny little mention of Green party incident involving that person.

Which triggered the (semi-automated) "ban/delete everyone/everything mentioning me" thing going on in Reddit.

Causing a knock-on "what the hell is happening" effect where people had to do the research to find what in the Bindel article was triggering bizarre admin behaviour and banning of moderators.

[ArabellaScott]

This seems to be all completely normal and not at all cause to raise an eyebrow or two.

[NecessaryScene1]

I think mine are stuck.

[Cwenthryth]

Is there not any kind of oversight though? Can one member of staff have this kind of reach? Or does the Reddit leadership approve of this behaviour?

It’s really quite bizarre. And absolute Striesand effect. This would have been a discussion in a single subreddit about the Green Party. Whereas now.....bonkers. But sunlight!

[StocksAndScares]

The person in question is a paid administrator. They have far more power than a mod.