by Brett Stevens on February 1, 2017

In response to a rising “populist” realist movement around the world, old media and new media alike are uniting to squeeze out those counter-narrative opinions. In the mainstream media, they call it fake news; on social media, apparently, they ban it for either no reason or for a false reason.

Hamster hive echo chamber Reddit banned /r/altright tonight. No reason was given, and is the norm on Reddit, since the evidence is hidden and the admins will not speak of it, the real reason is a matter of conjecture. At least one source noted however that posting of links from WeSearchr seeking the Antifa who sucker-punched Richard Spencer may have precipitated the banning.

Reddit generally insists that it does not ban for topic matter, and that subs are being punished for specific behavior that went on in them. Clearly this was true in some cases, such as the infamous “Coontown” which should have known it was on Double Secret Probation with that name. But here, the case is not so clear, and by refusing to tell, the admins are undermining confidence in a service which already lacks it.

Most likely, they are simply seeking what every business does: an illusion of safety. Social media is the shopping mall of the 1990s where the kids and lonely people hang out. Those people get scared off by crime and dangerous people, and for most people, Nazis are dangerous people. In addition, Reddit cultivates its audience among low-testosterone white males, and these tend to cry when confronted with off-narrative information.

In the meantime, the former /r/altright users are gathering on VOAT, prompting a question that will divide our audience here: should the Alt Right attempt to gain mention in the mainstream media, or go around it and set up its own media, knowing that it has then set up a citadel which can in turn be conquered?

Tags: altright, reddit, voat

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