Reddit has restricted access to the r/Russia subreddit amid the growing escalation of misinformation surrounding the invasion of Ukraine.
The subreddit has become a bastion of pro-Russia content, with its top posts defending and justifying the invasion of Ukraine. As a result, Reddit has restricted access to the subreddit and removed at least one moderator from the forum.
“We are clear in our policies that moderators and users may not attempt to manipulate and interfere with the conversations or communities on our platform,” a Reddit spokesperson told the Washington Examiner.
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“In line with these policies, we have quarantined r/Russia … and removed a moderator for acting in bad faith. We have connected directly with the remaining moderators to provide guidance and remind them of our policies. We will continue to monitor the situation and take additional steps as needed,” the spokesperson added.
Reddit also announced that it was restricting access to r/RussiaPolitics, which was suffering from similar problems with misinformation.
The restrictions, which Reddit describes as a “quarantine,” will stop posts on each subreddit from appearing in searches, recommendations, and feeds unless a user has included them. The quarantine also informs users about the content and requires them to consent before entering the site.
The r/Russia subreddit currently warns users that it contains “a high volume of information not supported by credible sources” before allowing them to enter.
Reddit quarantined r/The_Donald, a pro-Donald Trump subreddit that grew popular among pro-Trump conservatives, in 2019.
The Reddit quarantining is the latest effort by social media companies to combat misinformation regarding the Ukraine invasion. Several users have begun spreading clips and images ostensibly from the war. However, many of these images and videos are from different conflicts or were falsified to appear as if they occurred in Ukraine.
Google, Facebook, and Twitter have cracked down on Russian state media, announcing that they will not allow Russian outlets to purchase ads on their platforms. Twitter announced on Monday that it was attaching labels identifying Russian state media to relevant links. Twitter also stated that it would halt the sale and display of advertisements in Russia and Ukraine.
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Russia has taken significant action since the invasion of Ukraine on Thursday to censor social media in Russia. A Russian tech regulator announced on Friday that it was “partially censoring” Facebook due to the company’s decision to fact-check Russian outlets. Twitter also said that several Russian Twitter users reported being restricted.
YouTube announced on Tuesday that it was blocking access to Russian state media, including RT and Sputnik in Europe.
