Reddit censored/removed comments on Orlando shooting: watch live | Hacker News Reader

Reddit censored/removed comments on Orlando shooting: watch live

r.go1dfish.me

96 pointsgiis47 comments

Well I wouldn't be surprised that they delete more stuff now. In that UCLA shooting a few days ago, the very top comment was a guy talking about how he was there, and how he has multple confirmations that there were 4 shooters, at least 1 of which was female, clothing descriptions of what each one was wearing, the different locations where each attacked all over campus, how there were at least 7 people shot and at least 5 dead.

It was all false. There was 1 single male shooter who shot one person then shot himself in 1 room.

Yes, agree when mods delete/remove comments that spreads false information or rumors. That's right thing to do, that's their task too.

But looks like these (r/news) mods first deleted threads and created a single thread (after 5-hrs?) and made it as sticky so that it will never reach the front page. Then started removing comment, almost everything. This is the most blatant form of censorship.

Eye witnesses aren't reliable, to be frank, even in court they aren't weighed heavily as evidence. So, I don't mind moderating that sort of thing, especially if the live update might actually put more people in danger, or if it perpetuates a rumor.

That being said, the Reddit mods on /r/news aren't moderating those comments...they are actually moderating legitimate news sources that were reporting possible ties to radical Islam or ISIS. We do know from the FBI he actually called 911 before the attack and pledged to ISIS, so that's not something you can dispute. We also know he was under investigation, at one time, by the FBI. Yet the Reddit mods have chosen to delete those comments or sources.

I'm not sure your example really applies here... the mods here seem to be deleting comments that identify the shooter's name and ties to radical islam.

It's worth noting that even the FBI came out and stated possible links. /r/news is literally censoring news...

These megathreads used to be the goto source for breaking news. The one on /r/news is a huge joke. Literally every comment is deleted... redditors are resorting to /r/askreddit and /r/the_donald to discuss the shooting!

This is a big deal!

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[-]brettsinn 273 points 2 hours ago [removed] I found it really strange this wasn't the first thing I saw on the fp. Had to dig in order to find it.

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[-]JonBananas 106 points 2 hours ago It's the worst terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11 and there are almost zero threads about it.

The mods are deleting things according to ever-changing standards. Reddits move toward censorship has been documented before. This is particularly jarring.

The flip side of that is a moderator that picks and chooses comments and threads to "moderate" while sitting behind a desk nowhere near the incident.

That does not explain deleting all references to red cross blood donation.

http://imgur.com/a/l3EZj

That was particularly weird, out of everything they could censor, why this?

Well there were 14,000+ comments on the thread. If they were quickly deleting a lot of stuff they could accidentally delete some things.

They're removing links to actual news articles.

It's really interesting the comments that are being deleted. Even links to news sources and quotes cited from news sources are being deleted. Someone saying that this was a tragedy was deleted. I'm actually not sure what doesn't get deleted at this point.

They were originally covering it, it only started getting censored when the gunman's religion was identified as Islam. I can sympathize with combating racist comments. I will not sympathize with people blatantly censoring the news because it doesn't flow with their politics.

I've been following this all morning and it's crazy! I'm shocked that no admins have stepped in. If they don't soon, this could be a real turning point for Reddit as the "front page" of the internet.

You know it's bad when the FoxNews FB page is providing more information than Reddit.

I've gone ahead and added reddit to my /etc/hosts over this. Not because this in particular is so bad to warrant it on its own (though it is), so much as it is the final straw in a long line of things that should have been the last straw.

For people who are interested in actual news instead of meme wankery, Digg has been back for a while: http://digg.com/

The way reddit is going, I think it's entirely possible that digg could once again become the place to go, possibly even likely if they work towards an "uncensored reddit". I could see some event happening (like this), where a mass exodus occurs, just like happened to dogg.

Digg is doing a different model now, no comments. Honestly it's kind of refreshing.

That sounds boring, like a newspaper.

We've come full circle. End of one cycle, beginning of another.

Wow, went through a few threads there and the moderators are outright banning anyone who mentions the religion of the shooter, which the fbi has confirmed.

top comment there now from the mods: "Only comments breaking our rules are being deleted. If you think its more productive to cry about censorship then it is to discuss this horrifying event, we suggest you try another subreddit."

I think it's safe to say these are not the people you want moderating /r/news

(meanwhile, the top thread on at least my frontpage about it is now from /r/AskReddit, where they seem to be having a more reasonable discussion and are only deleting comments trying to doxx people)

"awful" seems like the likely steady state for the volunteer moderation of any large online community. Especially when the moderator pool is closed or otherwise self-selecting.

It's one of those jobs where you probably don't want to give it to people that really want to do it.

Not Reddit. Just the moderators of r/news. If the admins don't don't do anything about it though, then it's safe to assume they condone such practices.

The fish always rots from the head.

Apparently in the face of the /r/news moderator behavior this moved over to /r/AskReddit, and is back on the front page.

Looking through that thread, I also saw a few recent notes about things starting to be undeleted/unmuted in /r/news, the suspicion being that actual reddit admins have started to get involved now.

It's interesting that somehow we all think we can immediately divine the motivations of someone who kills a bunch of people when very often it takes a lot of time and investigation by police and prosecutors to determine motive in a court of law. It's not at all surprising that the conversations immediately following something like this are colored by politics. Was the shooter motivated by religious extremism? Was he motivated by hatred of LGBT people? Was it caused by too-liberal gun laws? Could it have been prevented by someone carrying concealed in the club?

Really, who cares? Why are so many people more concerned with framing future political arguments about causes and solutions? None of it actually helps the victims or helps prevent future incidents.

They seem to unblock some threads now (but with comments still locked).

Reddit has become a weird place. Where have the normal people gone?

Most online communities fall apart when they hit a critical size.

I only visit a few small topical reddits now, like Space and SpaceX. Those are decent.

HN is YC's kingdom. I expect a certain bias here and factor that in, but it's remained interesting and has avoided melting down into a total echo chamber or dumb meme cascade.

This was censored. I think it's safe to say that Reddit has a moderation problem.

Edit: to those downvoting, care to explain why this post is controversial? I can't understand the mindset at all.

KEEP POSTING THE MODS ARE DELETING VITAL INFO!!

If you are in Orlando, please be safe and please donate blood if you can. Here are the locations to donate blood:

O+ and O- blood donors needed. Due to the shooting overnight, the hospital and blood bank is critically low right now for donated blood. If you are able, please go this morning to donate at one of the locations below. This valuable gift you can give is a direct way to help those injured from this tragic incident. The Orange, Osceola, and Seminole locations open today are:

Orlando - West Michigan Donor Center 345 West Michigan St #106 Orlando, FL 32806 Phone: 407-835-5500 Fax: (407) 835-5505 Sun: 7:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Orlando - Main Donor Center 8669 Commodity Circle Orlando, FL 32819 Phone: (407) 248-5009 Fax: (407) 455-7570 Sun: 7:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Apopka Donor Center 131 North Park Ave Apopka, FL 32703 Phone: (407) 884-7471 Fax: (407) 884-7475 Sun: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Kissimmee Donor Center 1029 North John Young Pkwy Kissimmee, FL 34741 Phone: (407) 847-5747 Fax: (407) 847-9605 Sun: 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Oviedo Donor Center 1954 West 426 #1100 Oviedo, FL 32765 Phone: (407) 588-1291 Fax: (407) 365-9982 Sun: 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Lake Mary Donor Center 105 Waymont Ct #101 Lake Mary , FL 32746 Phone: (407) 322-0822 Fax: (407) 328- 1119 Sun: 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM

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