Reddit removes links to Luigi Mangione’s manifesto

Reddit is taking down posts linked to the manifesto of the alleged shooter of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The company says it has been using the policy for a long time, but its actions have angered and frustrated some users.

Luigi Mangione, 26, who was arrested and charged with murder earlier this week, has been the talk of the Internet since New York police released photos of the alleged killer. Excerpts from the 261-word manifesto were published by New York Timeswhen reporter Ken Klippenstein found it all again in his Substack on Tuesday. Links to Klippenstein’s newsletter containing the manifesto began to disappear from Reddit, some were removed by community moderators of individual subreddits and others were taken down by Reddit staff.

In a widely viewed letter on , the president explained that Reddit had ordered him to remove the manifesto post. “We have been officially notified by Reddit that we must strictly adhere to their global rules regarding violent content,” wrote moderator clemthearcher. “Specifically, Reddit told us that we are not allowed to post Luigi Mangione’s document, even if it is reported to be neutral.”

Reddit removed a link to the manifesto on r/interestingasfuck, which had nearly 20,000 upvotes, which was later shared on r/subredditdrama. Posts from other subreddits, including ir/witchesVsPatriarchy and r/antiwork. Engadget has confirmed that the site is now automatically blocking posts that try to link to Substack’s manifesto posts.

While the move has angered many Redditors, the company says it’s not a new policy. A Reddit spokesperson confirmed that “manifestos related to acts of violence” violate the company’s rules, saying:

The policy also refers to posts “containing manifestos of mass murderers or images of their violence” as an example of violating content (Magione has never been accused of mass murder). A Reddit spokesperson confirmed that Redditors are allowed to discuss the manifesto, including broadcasting about it, as long as they don’t violate other aspects of the company’s rules.

While it’s common for social media users to accuse the company of “suppression” amid content moderation controversies, Reddit’s actions come at a time when many Internet commentators have expressed sympathy for Mangione, who has become a “””” in some corners. the Internet. His actions also caused the American health care system to be re-examined as people joined in the denial of the insurance company after the incident.

“I’m sure the reddit admins find themselves more aligned with the class of people like Brian Johnson (sic) than the rest of us,” one commenter responded to clemthearcher’s post on r/popculturechat, “so the only violence they care to moderate is against Brian Johnson (sic) – not the misogyny, racism, homophobia, or rampant selfishness of our healthcare industry that has killed or it caused the suffering of hundreds of thousands of people.”