Hey guys, this one's a doozy! I thought this story was worthy of being told. I already feel better having written it all out.
But if long-winded diatribes aren't your cup of tea, I won't be offended if you skip this one. ngl though, it's got some juicy bits. I'd love to know how all of this jives with the experiences and observations of many of you out there.
On the Night of the Digital Long Knives, they came for me first. Before Trump was banned and before they Thanosed half of social media, they got me.
In the early hours of January 7, 2021, US Senator Tammy Duckworth emphatically declared in Congress that “reddit conspiracy theories” were in part to blame for the “violent insurrection” alleged to have occurred just hours earlier at the US Capitol.
No further clarification was provided as to which conspiracies from the popular social media site were responsible, nor how this conclusion was reached within hours of such an historically unprecedented and controversial event.
The administrators of reddit acted swiftly. The admins traditionally only “spring” into action when confronted with negative PR. Getting publicly called out in Congress after an alleged “coup” was about as high profile as it gets. Within hours, they removed and permanently banned the head moderator of the “subreddit” devoted to conspiracy theories…yours truly.
While the admins are actual employees of reddit, moderators are unpaid volunteers who focus on specific “sub”-reddits. Moderators are a crucial component of how the site functions. They hold no power outside their respective communities and are beholden to the whims of the admins. A case can be made that the sweeping censorship that reached a fever pitch in January was coordinated between rogue elements of multiple world governments and the Big Tech juggernaut. On reddit, I was one of many targeted in this technological purge.