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Multiple subreddits are banning X links in protest of Elon Musk’s salute at the presidential inauguration. The implosion of ideological groupthink online highlights the fascinating potential of digital community.
Elon Musk was one of a number of tech-giants who took center stage at Donald Trump’s second presidential inauguration. The X owner and Tesla founder has become an unlikely political sidekick (or partner in crime, if you prefer) since the latter end of Trump’s campaign run.
But as fintech billionaires continue to infiltrate The White House, public sentiment toward Musk’s companies – namely X – have snowballed into widespread digital protests against what many view as a mounting oligarchical threat to American democracy.
Following Trump’s return to office on Monday, Musk sparked fresh controversy with an innocuous arm gesture. A slight tilt of the hand, and a brazen wave. It was – to many onlookers – a clear invocation of the Nazi salute.
A wave of subreddit moderators have since orchestrated bans on X links, the platform that Musk has increasingly molded into his personal echo chamber. The site formerly known as Twitter has since become an increasing representation of the kind of unchecked ideological dominance that Reddit’s fragmented communities pride themselves on resisting.
While the space has long been considered anti-capitalist and anti-institutional by its users, studies have debunked Reddit’s proclaimed democratic structure. As a bastion of democratic discourse, the site’s siloed subreddits often foster the same kind of groupthink users ostensibly oppose.
The anti-X movement has gained significant momentum across hundreds of major subreddits in under a week. A community amounting to around 4.8 million have committed to a trial period banning all X content (with limited exceptions).
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Musk’s behaviour has morphed him into a kind of digital dictator. But this reveals a fundamental truth about digital platforms: their potential for collection action. Reddit’s decentralised structure can turn niche communities into powerful coalitions, but also foster echo chambers. Moments like these prove ideological unity can quickly devolve into rigid dogma.
‘We think it’s time to try and see how the subreddit works without content from Twitter,’ the r/Formula1 moderators wrote, citing concerns over bots and login issues.
r/Formula1 is in the top 1% of largest subreddits on Reddit, meaning they have significant sway over which social media platforms become the primary sources for Formula 1 news.
It raises an interesting question about the power of sporting communities online, and their capacity to sway political discourse. X has been the mecca of sports discussion for years, but as it continually implodes into a space of singular ideological sentiment, more niche, fringe platforms have the capacity to replace it.
Similarly, a proposal to ban X links on the r/LiverpoolFC subreddit received over 36,000 votes, while the Chicago Bears subreddit stated that ‘the values of our team and history of players who fought in WW2’ would be best reflected by a ban on X content. It’s already received 26,000 votes.
These protests are a reminder of the internet’s capacity for resistance, as an ecosystem where users can challenge even the most influential voices. But it’s worth considering how figures like Musk thrive on digital chaos. There’s a real threat that online outrage reinforces division rather than resolves it.
Reddit itself has stressed that there is currently no sitewide ban on X links, telling the BBC it ‘has a longstanding commitment to freedom of speech and freedom of association.’
But that hasn’t stopped subreddit moderators, whom the platform heavily relies upon, to decide what is and isn’t allowed in their corner of the website.
And these decisions have real leverage. Some of the most popular and widely read posts across Reddit include links and screenshots from X. That’s because many subreddits (particularly those in the sports community) tend to receive a lot of content from links to athletes, analysts and journalists who spend time posting online.
Whether the impacts of these protests have any staying power is another matter. But Musk’s tenure at X has undoubtedly turned the platform into a battleground for the soul of online discourse.
If Reddit vs. X can tell us anything, it’s that the internet can amplify authoritarian tendencies with ease, just as it can mobilise against them.
