Dozens of popular subreddits are banning links to X after Elon Musk made a gesture that historians and human rights groups have described as a Nazi salute. Communities that have instituted a ban on links to X include r/formula1, r/military, r/nursing, r/TwoXChromosomes, and r/nintendo.
The shift is spreading across Reddit after neo-Nazis celebrated Musk’s speech at a rally on Monday for Donald Trump’s inauguration. During the speech, Musk twice raised his arm in a salute that historians, elected officials, and organizations that support Holocaust survivors have observed as a Nazi salute. During his speech, Musk places his hand on his chest and throws his arm forward at an angle, holding it mid-air for a few moments. “My heart goes out to you,” he says to supporters. Some supporters of Musk have defended him, saying the gesture went along with his words.
Musk has not disavowed the neo-Nazis reading his gesture as a Sieg Heil, and in fact has minimized criticism, writing on X that “The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.” Musk has previously amplified racist, antisemitic conspiracy theories like the Great Replacement Theory and is constantly posting anti-immigrant claims not based in reality. After pouring millions of dollars into US politics to elect Trump, Musk has expanded to German politics as well, endorsing the far right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Regardless of Musk’s true intentions, extremists are thrilled: as Rolling Stone reported, white supremacists are calling it a “Donald Trump White Power moment” and thanking Musk for “hearing” them.
The subreddits that announced the new rule cover millions of users across geography and interests. Some subreddits have announced they will allow screenshots of content from X but not hyperlinks, and many other large communities like r/nba and r/nfl are discussing following suit. Even setting Musk’s right wing politics aside, viewing X links on Reddit isn’t a great experience: links often don’t unfurl and users need an X account to view the conversation on the platform.
“Reddit has a longstanding commitment to freedom of speech and freedom of association,” said a Reddit spokesperson who asked to remain anonymous citing the sensitivity of the subject. While individual subreddits are able to institute community rules, “Reddit Inc. has no ban on X links — there are still plenty of X links on Reddit,” the spokesperson wrote in an email.
X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
