UPDATE: Mat Mullen, Disqus employee got a comment past the moderator (maybe he knows someone):
This is the weirdest thing I've ever read on the Atlantic. You're actually letting the Church of Scientology sponsor content on your website?
This is the weirdest thing I've ever read on the Atlantic. You're actually letting the Church of Scientology sponsor content on your website?
Edit: This seems to be a UI issue. After reloading his comment is sitting at only 1 upvote.
"Such beautiful buildings! It's a shame that Shelley Miscavige couldn't join her husband at the gala openings!"
Aren't they editing the comments for their customer?
I suppose you could come up with a theory where The Atlantic talked/bribed Disqus into doing the moderation for them, but it seems much more straightforward to assume that it's the admins at The Atlantic who were filtering comments.
That was never a good idea IMHO... If you care about your readers, don't outsource comments. I cannot take websites seriously that are using Disqus (or Facebook, or other such shady, inaccountable stuff) to replace such a vital part of their online operations.