Reddit bans all links to Russian state media websites worldwide

Reddit globally bans all links to the websites of Russian state media such as Russia Today or Sputnik on its platform. It also excludes all advertisements aimed at its Russian members and advertisements that come from Russian private or public organizations.

The company announces the measures in a blog post stating that the ban on links from Russian state media websites and derivatives was already in effect on other subreddits. That ban is now being extended to all Reddit users worldwide.

According to the Reddit team, community members and moderators are also guided on a daily basis. “Our moderators are supported so that they can continue their work in peace,” the blog post reads. In this way, the platform hopes not to accidentally remove newsworthy stories and ‘citizen journalism’ about the conflict from its platforms.

Reddit also wants subreddits with “questionable moderation” to attract fewer visitors. The social media platform therefore puts these subreddits in ‘quarantine’ mode like it a few days ago has done with the r/Russia subreddit and/or is also appointing new moderators.

The European Union has suspended broadcasts of Russia Today and Sputnik since yesterday. These Russian state media are therefore no longer allowed to broadcast media in all 27 EU member states. The European Commission describes Russia Today and Sputnik as ‘an essential tool to aid and support the Russian aggression against Ukraine’.