Reddit on Wednesday started banning pages for neo-Nazis and their sympathizers on the platform.

Reddit announced the change on its own r/modnews subreddit.

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“We found that the policy regarding ‘inciting' violence was too vague, and so we have made an effort to adjust it to be more clear and comprehensive,” the company wrote.

“Going forward, we will take action against any content that encourages, glorifies, incites, or calls for violence or physical harm against an individual or a group of people; likewise, we will also take action against content that glorifies or encourages the abuse of animals.”

At least seven subreddits have been kicked off Reddit as a result, including the r/Nazi, r/EuropeanNationalism and r/pol subreddits. The last subreddit is an offshoot of the infamous 4Chan and 8Chan message boards that share the "pol" name.

Asked for comment, a Reddit spokesperson said the company strives "to be a welcoming, open platform for all by trusting our users to maintain an environment that cultivates genuine conversation."

The spokesperson did not confirm or deny that the bans of r/nazi and the others mentioned were the direct result of the policy change.



Reddit had been previously criticized for being slow to remove certain types of problematic content from its platform. The company has said its aim is to be more flexible to the desires of its various communities. Barring certain rules in its user agreement and content policy, acceptable content on Reddit is up to the self-established rules of the site’s different subreddits.