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/r/worldnews is one of the most astroturfed places on the internet. Some of those commenters are so nationalist and bloodthirsty they unnerve me. The ban hammer

/r/worldnews is one of the most astroturfed places on the internet. Some of those commenters are so nationalist and bloodthirsty they unnerve me. The ban hammer is extremely active on this sub, and for saying completely innocuous political statements about personal preference. I'm absolutely sure this is broader than just that sub but I've probably heard this specific complaint from probably a dozen other people too. I will say, the subreddit system does a decent job of quarantining the dysfunction to that sub. The mod quality is everything and the mod drama is an absolute dumpster fire. (Extremely curiously, Ghislaine Maxwell seems to have been one of the most prolific of the mods, and one of her suspected accounts may be one of the most successful (karma-wise) posters of all reddit.) But on the flipside, /r/askhistorians is still one of the best resources on the internet. Many of the specialty subreddits I frequent (Aviation, UkraineRussiaReport, video game subs, several miscellaneous african subs) are still functioning fine.

_DeadFred_ 2y ago
[flagged]
- taurknaut 2y ago
  The concern is understandable, I suppose. It's just a convenient way to see clips from both sides of the conflict, and it's the best source for combat footage clips anywhere. I do have a working brain and can use it to identify when people have a polemic. I prefer it to telegram, which is the alternative. The comments are indeed... uh, very strident in their support for either side. So I'm not sure if it's "propaganda" so much as people regurgitating propaganda at each other at full volume. Anyway, it's a war. Propaganda is essentially impossible to avoid without ignoring the topic entirely. Still, it's what we have to work with. And to be clear my sympathies lie with the ukrainian people.
  - _DeadFred_ 2y ago
    Propaganda is big on mixing just enough 'both sides' to lend legitimacy. Again, if I'm remembering correctly this dude was called out on another sub and ended up creating this one specifically to continue his propaganda narrative. There's a lot better subs to work with on Reddit than that sub
    - hackinthebochs 2y ago
      /r/UkraineRussiaReport is basically the only forum on the whole site where anything that isn't 100% cheerleading for Ukraine is allowed to be posted. It seems like pro-Russian propaganda only in contrast to the rest of Reddit where the pro-Ukraine bias is actively enforced by the mods. You say the creator was "called out" on other subs which is why he created the alternative. But that just lends legitimacy to the sub, if you're interested in anything approaching an unbiased source of information.
      - rightbyte 2y ago
        The overton window has shifted quite abit on the matter since about a year or something, though.
- theoreticalmal 2y ago
  In a HN thread about loyalist mods and echo chamber subreddits, what does claiming an account was “called out” actually mean?
- lmm 2y ago
  > Wasn't it formed when the mod got called out in a different sub? Most subreddits gets formed by someone who's tired of the existing subs, gets into one too many arguments with a mod, and thinks they can do better. I don't know anything about these specific subs but I wouldn't see "this guy formed this sub after getting called out by a mod in another sub" as any kind of red flag.

_DeadFred_ 2y ago

[flagged]

taurknaut 2y ago
The concern is understandable, I suppose. It's just a convenient way to see clips from both sides of the conflict, and it's the best source for combat footage clips anywhere. I do have a working brain and can use it to identify when people have a polemic. I prefer it to telegram, which is the alternative. The comments are indeed... uh, very strident in their support for either side. So I'm not sure if it's "propaganda" so much as people regurgitating propaganda at each other at full volume. Anyway, it's a war. Propaganda is essentially impossible to avoid without ignoring the topic entirely. Still, it's what we have to work with. And to be clear my sympathies lie with the ukrainian people.
- _DeadFred_ 2y ago
  Propaganda is big on mixing just enough 'both sides' to lend legitimacy. Again, if I'm remembering correctly this dude was called out on another sub and ended up creating this one specifically to continue his propaganda narrative. There's a lot better subs to work with on Reddit than that sub
  - hackinthebochs 2y ago
    /r/UkraineRussiaReport is basically the only forum on the whole site where anything that isn't 100% cheerleading for Ukraine is allowed to be posted. It seems like pro-Russian propaganda only in contrast to the rest of Reddit where the pro-Ukraine bias is actively enforced by the mods. You say the creator was "called out" on other subs which is why he created the alternative. But that just lends legitimacy to the sub, if you're interested in anything approaching an unbiased source of information.
    - rightbyte 2y ago
      The overton window has shifted quite abit on the matter since about a year or something, though.
theoreticalmal 2y ago
In a HN thread about loyalist mods and echo chamber subreddits, what does claiming an account was “called out” actually mean?
lmm 2y ago
> Wasn't it formed when the mod got called out in a different sub? Most subreddits gets formed by someone who's tired of the existing subs, gets into one too many arguments with a mod, and thinks they can do better. I don't know anything about these specific subs but I wouldn't see "this guy formed this sub after getting called out by a mod in another sub" as any kind of red flag.