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I lurked Reddit for a long time before creating an account which is now over 6 years old. I was a ‘Top Contributor’ and in the rewards program. 89k karma, never promoted violence or targeted any group, but I got a 7-day ban which was followed up hours later with a permanent ban. This is because of a comment criticizing Senator Radcliffe, trump, and Musk. The comment included profanity, (I called them hypocrites and cunts), but it wasn’t directed at any user or marginalized group. Just harsh political commentary.

Reddit initially issued a 7-day ban, which I appealed. That appeal was approved, the comment was restored, and they admitted it didn’t violate the rules. But the permanent ban still stands, and my follow-up appeals on that have been ignored. No explanation. No transparency. Just gone.

It’s made me realize how fragile “free speech” is on platforms like Reddit. You can insult regular users and get away with it, say horrendously racist, misogynistic, and homophobic things, but speak too plainly about powerful people and suddenly you’re promoting “hate.”

I combed through the Reddit rules, and nothing I have ever commented or posted violates them.

That’s the reason I’m here on Lemmy now. I’m trying to read more, scroll less, and engage with platforms that aren’t actively censoring political dissent. Who else is in the same boat? Is there anything that can be done to hold Reddit accountable or make people aware of they way they are censoring speech? This is my first Lemmy post. I marked it NSFW because of the profanity.

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[-] Scranulum@lemm.ee 63 points 4 weeks ago

Also here after a reddit ban. Mine was also politically motivated.

I watched admins remove a comment that was not violent, no profanity, nothing like that. The offense: the commenter described what "black-bagging" was, in reference to the immigrants being abducted around the country. Someone asked what "black-bagging" meant, he replied with one sentence just explaining the meaning of the term, comment nuked within five minutes.

I then told this story in another comment in another thread. Didn't say shit about Musk or Trump. Just told the story of how reddit admins wouldn't let this guy explain what black-bagging meant.

Permanent ban within one hour for "ban evasion." Never been banned prior. It was my first and last reddit ban.

Fuck spez, fuck reddit, fuck the rest of em all.

[-] Ledericas@lemm.ee 24 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

looks like a they are quashing any anti-musk and trump sentiment on reddit, any attempts to report them can also result in a ban too. they definitely dont want what musk and trump are doing being discussed in reddit in serious manny, we can see a proportional response from reddit when trump and musk did something, and Musk also recently complained to reddit they need to censor people more.

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[-] courageousstep@lemm.ee 33 points 4 weeks ago

I wish more people would travel here. We need people to build up the communities and interact with content. It’s refreshing to see comments under limited moderation, or moderation that actually targets the right kind of hate speech: the powerful punching down.

I only visit Reddit when someone here links to it, since I’m assuming the comments are relevant, or if I’m doing a Google search and the answer is in a Reddit comment.

Reddit is dying from the top down. People migrating away would show billionaires that they don’t control us.

[-] silentbob@literature.cafe 22 points 4 weeks ago

This is my first comment to say I am also a reddit refugee!

[-] bender223@lemmy.today 8 points 4 weeks ago
[-] silentbob@literature.cafe 5 points 4 weeks ago

Thanks! I've been on reddit for 11 years and I haven't been active on it for a month. Things are changing and I don't feel good about it :/

[-] grte@lemmy.ca 11 points 4 weeks ago

You'll be happy to know that lemmy's monthly active user count has grown ~20% in the last month.

https://lemmy.fediverse.observer/dailystats

[-] TheHalifaxJones@lemm.ee 4 points 3 weeks ago

I think what would help in this would be more options for apps (which there are thankfully) but also an easy to read guide on how this all works and how to sign up and get on board. It’s complexity vague in this effort. Which does weed out the certain kind of people who aren’t tech savvy. But it would help its numbers quite a bit.

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[-] Mk23simp@lemmy.blahaj.zone 30 points 4 weeks ago

I really liked Reddit, getting a lot of value out of the content posted there by people. And I met some cool people through it.

I never got banned from it myself, but as time went on it was very clear that the company in charge of the platform was not steering things in a good direction, and was not responsible for the value I liked. They just captured the value by being the place where people posted. They really drove that point home when they locked off the API, and I completely quit Reddit at that point, migrating to Lemmy instead.

I definitely feel that Lemmy doesn't have as much value collected on it yet compared to Reddit. There's just not as many people posting and generating that value. But, it is free of that sort of draconian control that Reddit has. Not just temporarily free, as a favor from venture capital to draw people in. Permanently free. So, if we build up the value of Lemmy by having more people post here, we will be able to enjoy that value free from the corpo BS.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk. :P

[-] KarlHungus42@lemmy.world 13 points 4 weeks ago

I noticed a big difference after they cut off the API. I've only been on Lemmy a few days, but I feel the same way about the amount of content. Hopefully more and more people will migrate here as reddit continues their nonsense. It's a shame to see what it has become.

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[-] arotrios@lemmy.world 22 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Welcome weary traveler!

As lemmy's self-designated High Corvid of Progressivity, I extend to you the traditional Fediversal blessing of:

remember kids:

A place in heaven is reserved for those who speak truth to power

[-] silentbob@literature.cafe 4 points 3 weeks ago

Luigi ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[-] Aeri@lemmy.world 18 points 4 weeks ago

I was banned for saying I should have a legal right to punch Nazis, which I don't think was "permanent ban" territory.

This to me says that Reddit is Pro Nazi

[-] dickalan@lemmy.world 7 points 3 weeks ago

I was issued a permanent ban that I successfully appealed when all I said was always punch Nazis

[-] Aeri@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

I appealed but it was pretty much instantly declined, and you know, fuck em

[-] Salamanderwizard92@lemm.ee 6 points 3 weeks ago

Yep. That was my first ban. My last pan was saying T n E should face the gallows. I said fuck it and came here.

[-] TheHalifaxJones@lemm.ee 18 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I was on reddit since around 2010. Had probably 500k karma in total? I was around before the apps. Still in the air of early internet vibes. It was a great place to find your community and chat.

I got my first ever temp ban a month ago for saying Luigi started a movement that our world needs. For billionaires need to be afraid of every day people.

Got a ban on r/news. Then shortly after a full ban.

I’ve been banned from plenty of right wing subs and it’s never been an issue. But one comment into their top corporate subreddit did it. So I left. Fuck em. There is no free speech there and to be honest. The quality of comments and community has dropped so heavily since 2016 that it doesn’t feel like a loss to me. Reddit community used to have standards and free speech for anyone. Now it’s no different from Facebook. Shitty joke comments on serious topics. Bots everywhere. It’s just a black hole now.

[-] Cocopanda@futurology.today 5 points 3 weeks ago

Couldn’t agree more with your assent. On one of my alts. I said we should collectively throw dog shit at Reddit HQ and they banned me. lol. It was a joke playing on the farmers that drive manure spreaders into the villages to fuck with council.

[-] GreenKnight23@lemmy.world 18 points 3 weeks ago

been banned since 2015 when I told a white supremacist Nazi to drink bleach and fuck themselves.

1000001336

[-] CaptDust@sh.itjust.works 17 points 4 weeks ago
[-] kelpie_returns@lemmy.world 15 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I was banned from a sub for explaining why "globalist" is an antisemetic dogwhistle. They said my comment was hate speech but left up the one I responded to, dogwhistle and all.

When I asked the sub's mods about the ruling, I was given a 3-day sitewide ban. I brought it to admins, and instead of any explanation, they responded by making that ban permanent.

I dont think there is any way they don't know what they're doing. Reddit is complicit.

[-] silentbob@literature.cafe 5 points 4 weeks ago

See I don't understand why reddit allows this, responding to questions about a ban by permanently banning them! The mod (and admin?) abuse seems to be getting worse. I was banned from a sub for saying it to turned to garbage in a different sub.

[-] KarlHungus42@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago

The cross-sub silencing is crazy too. I got banned from a bunch of tesla subs for participating in r/cyberstuck. On that one, I did message the mods and told them to go fuck themselves for stifling free speech. Someone actually replied back and said, "Freedom of speech, doesn't mean freedom from consequences.", which is an infuriating misuse of that expression in this context. Then I got a 3 day ban.

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[-] Lucky_777@lemmy.world 12 points 4 weeks ago

I told Nazis to go kill themselves. Then made multiple Krasnov accounts. All banned and now perm banned unless I use VPN. It was time to go, fuck that place. Welcome home.

[-] barneypiccolo@lemm.ee 10 points 3 weeks ago

I had a 12 year account, with over 900K karma. I was permabanned in Fenruary for repeating a comment I'd made nunerous times before the Inauguration without a word.

I came to Lemmy, and found lots of other 10+ year accounts that were banned as well. It seems February was a bloodbath, as they ejected lots of veteran accounts. We'll probably never know how many, but probably in the thousands. We were the people that built Reddit over the last decade, with high volumes of posts, and they never had reasons to ban us. Then suddenly, in February, ALL of us became such egregious violators that we all had to be permabanned?

Whatever, Reddit was becoming increasingly frustrating. Every post was filled with puns, bots, Russian Propaganda Farmers, conservative trolls, and other such nonsense. Without all the active veteran posters, it's only gotten far worse.

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[-] TRock@feddit.dk 10 points 3 weeks ago

I received a warning and my comment got deleted by Reddit. And after the news about potentially getting banned for upvoting specific content, I decided enough was enough, I deleted my account which I've had for 12 years.

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[-] johndroid@fedia.io 9 points 4 weeks ago

I was perma-banned because I made a joke about chucking a rock through the windshield of a literal, out-and-proud-capital-N Nazi.

Didn't make any appeals because it was time to leave. I spent waaaay too much time on that stupid site and now I'm starting to finally feel free of the outrage/affirmation addiction.

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[-] Doctor_Satan@lemm.ee 9 points 3 weeks ago

I upvoted a comment that was just a gif of Luigi Luigi (from Nintendo) smoking a cigarette.

"Promoting/glorifying violence"

Fuck Reddit. Fuck Spez. Fuck Elon.

[-] collapse_already@lemmy.ml 9 points 4 weeks ago

Permabanned for asking what Eisenhower would do if he was present at a Nazi march in Wisconsin and someone handed him a machine gun.

Apparently, impossible hypotheticals (Eisenhower is long dead) intended as a commentary on the fascist shift of the republican party (Eisenhower was a republican) are advocating violence. Eisenhower famously led efforts to kill Nazis.

So here I am.

Part of me wants to engage in ban evasion and just post hate all over reddit to make it worse. What are they going to do? Ban me? Too lazy to bother though.

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[-] magnetosphere@fedia.io 8 points 4 weeks ago

All I can do is extend my sympathies, and tell you that you’re better off in the long run. Most people here don’t like corporate social media because of situations like yours.

Don’t worry about profanity. People swear all the time and don’t mark their posts.

[-] CaptDust@sh.itjust.works 5 points 4 weeks ago

I find it kind of psychologically interesting how many reddifugees self censor, either directly or through obscuring names and events. That site's moderation is seriously screwing people up.

[-] fluffykittycat@slrpnk.net 5 points 4 weeks ago

It's so relaxing when you know that you don't have the sword of Damocles hanging over you

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[-] berno@lemmy.world 8 points 4 weeks ago

Reddit bans for all kind of political commentary across the spectrum. Fuck spez. Fuck reddit.

[-] Brutticus@lemm.ee 7 points 3 weeks ago

I got banned in 2019 for hate speech against cops.

[-] noobface@lemmy.world 7 points 3 weeks ago

They're most vulnerable and marginalized community. How dare you refuse to kiss their boots.

[-] silentbob@literature.cafe 7 points 4 weeks ago

This is the beginning of the downfall of reddit.

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[-] HelixDab2@lemm.ee 7 points 3 weeks ago

I suggested that the most appropriate way to deal with Nazis moving into your neighborhood was the traditional Scandinavian practice of hús-brenna. Apparently the admins dislike effective solutions.

It took me a few days to overwrite all of my comments from the prior 15 years or so, but I did it. Because fuck 'em, they don't get to train their AI on my data.

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[-] shalafi@lemmy.world 7 points 4 weeks ago

Permabanned for saying evil shit about Russians, a few times. Funny thing is how fast they would be on negative comments about Russia.

And BTW, Russians can die in a fucking fire. Lived under threat of nuclear annihilation for my entire childhood, and now the filthy gangsters are fucking with, and have ruined, American politics.

[-] RoundSparrow@lemm.ee 6 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Is there anything that can be done to hold Reddit accountable or make people aware of they way they are censoring speech?

Many people on social media platforms don't realize the spam filters can be abused by attackers to prevent certain topics from being mentioned. And on front-page subreddits they do not publish comments, they look published if you are logged in, but if you check from off-axis they are unpublished. I've been posting some of them here and on Bluesky, but nobody cares (on Bluesky, but people have here) !CensoredByReddit@lemm.ee maybe some tech press will cover it.

Lifetime (of the person) bans on Reddit for individual subreddits and accounts are dumb. That sites been around for decades. I can only image how many people got banned there at age 16 and are completely different people at age 22. I never see people bring this kind of criticism up.

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[-] SendPrudes@lemm.ee 6 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

One of my accounts banned for “my Lu Ouija board spelled CEO. What’s that mean?”

Or something along those lines.

Haven’t been back since. Timeline is essentially accurate to my baby lemmy face here^

[-] beliquititious@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 4 weeks ago

Is there anything that can be done to hold Reddit accountable or make people aware of they way they are censoring speech?

The best thing you can do to hold reddit to account would be to become an active lemmy user. You could make a reddit sucks sublemmy and moderate that if you are angry enough to take action.

[-] KarlHungus42@lemmy.world 5 points 4 weeks ago

I love this idea. I think I'm going to do that.

[-] Cocopanda@futurology.today 6 points 3 weeks ago

I said McConnell looks like he should be dead. They banned a million sub moderator and 14 year old acct. they can suck a massive dick.

[-] tfm@europe.pub 6 points 3 weeks ago

Welcome to the bright side :)

[-] Zedd_Prophecy@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago

Wiped out my 13 years of posts and comments and deleted my account when they started this crap. I thought the day they killed old reddit would be when I left but I can't stand by while they censor free speech. The site has been a shit pile for some time though and not even a ghost of what it was in the good old days.

[-] Mylemmypt@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago

Not banned. Just close account!

[-] Kyle_The_G@lemmy.world 5 points 4 weeks ago

I came here after they banned third party apps. No way I'm browsing with ads on their shitty app. RES still works fortunately but I've grown to really like it here. Haven't touched reddit in a year or so.

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[-] SeeMarkFly@lemmy.ml 4 points 4 weeks ago

I have said all kinds of nasty things there about GropenFührer...I mean inmate #P01135809 and other than a few downvotes, nothing. Maybe it's a "no warning" kind of thing?

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this post was submitted on 02 Apr 2025
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