On one hand censorship is bad, on the other crime in particular is an easy way for non-locals to astroturf or disrupt local communities because they can just gr

On one hand censorship is bad, on the other crime in particular is an easy way for non-locals to astroturf or disrupt local communities because they can just grab a news article and argue on the basis of generic talking points. I think it’s absolutely the case that this is regularly happening in many Reddit communities already, I’ve seen it first hand in the San Francisco and Bay Area subreddits. IMO the engagement optimization problem in social media is driving the increasing share of crime discussions online. Yes crime is getting worse in some areas, but I think crime just heavily drives engagement (which news media has known for a long time). With more conservatives going online, we’re seeing a bifurcation of traditional (cancel or callout culture, some kind of injustice) outrage porn - more common in the past when the internet leaned younger and more educated/urban - and now crime-related outrage porn that appeals to the right wing.