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In response to Elon Musk's salute, sports subreddits are looking to move away from X.
Following Elon Musk’s controversial appearance at President Donald Trump’s inauguration, a surprising new battleground in the online culture war has emerged: a growing movement within Reddit sports communities to ban links to X (formerly Twitter).
The conversation began on Tuesday in r/hockey, a subreddit with 2.7 million members, and quickly spread to Canadian hockey forums, Premier League groups, and NFL subreddits. Members are overwhelmingly supporting the idea of severing ties with X, citing frustration over Musk’s leadership. Complaints include the platform’s perceived tolerance of hate speech, far-right voices, user-unfriendly changes (such as forcing account creation to view posts), and dissatisfaction with Musk himself.
Ironically, the call to ban X links within sports subreddits poses challenges for these communities. Much of their content relies on user-shared highlights and breaking news, which are often tied to X posts. While alternatives like Threads and Bluesky are gaining traction, X remains a central hub for sports updates. Yet, some users see the growing presence of professional teams and journalists on Bluesky as a sign that the sports community’s dependence on X may soon wane.
Efforts to abandon X aren’t without opposition. Certain subreddits, such as r/Chelsea, have faced backlash after moderators shut down discussions about banning X links. Similar conflicts have arisen in subreddits for the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings, where moderators have removed posts advocating for change, leaving users frustrated and divided.
The debate is still in its early stages, and many subreddits have yet to decide whether to update their rules. In discussions across various forums, moderators frequently reference ongoing “internal discussions” about the future of X links. However, some action has been taken: the Nottingham Forest subreddit has already banned X links outright, showing that small but significant changes are underway. For now, the momentum remains scattered, but the push to move away from X is gaining traction in key parts of the Reddit sports ecosystem.
Source: https://mashable.com/article/sports-subreddits-push-to-ban-x-links-after-elon-musk-salute
Following Elon Musk’s controversial appearance at President Donald Trump’s inauguration, a surprising new battleground in the online culture war has emerged: a growing movement within Reddit sports communities to ban links to X (formerly Twitter).
The conversation began on Tuesday in r/hockey, a subreddit with 2.7 million members, and quickly spread to Canadian hockey forums, Premier League groups, and NFL subreddits. Members are overwhelmingly supporting the idea of severing ties with X, citing frustration over Musk’s leadership. Complaints include the platform’s perceived tolerance of hate speech, far-right voices, user-unfriendly changes (such as forcing account creation to view posts), and dissatisfaction with Musk himself.
Ironically, the call to ban X links within sports subreddits poses challenges for these communities. Much of their content relies on user-shared highlights and breaking news, which are often tied to X posts. While alternatives like Threads and Bluesky are gaining traction, X remains a central hub for sports updates. Yet, some users see the growing presence of professional teams and journalists on Bluesky as a sign that the sports community’s dependence on X may soon wane.
Efforts to abandon X aren’t without opposition. Certain subreddits, such as r/Chelsea, have faced backlash after moderators shut down discussions about banning X links. Similar conflicts have arisen in subreddits for the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings, where moderators have removed posts advocating for change, leaving users frustrated and divided.
The debate is still in its early stages, and many subreddits have yet to decide whether to update their rules. In discussions across various forums, moderators frequently reference ongoing “internal discussions” about the future of X links. However, some action has been taken: the Nottingham Forest subreddit has already banned X links outright, showing that small but significant changes are underway. For now, the momentum remains scattered, but the push to move away from X is gaining traction in key parts of the Reddit sports ecosystem.
Source: https://mashable.com/article/sports-subreddits-push-to-ban-x-links-after-elon-musk-salute
