Reddit bans users from impersonating someone else for deception

Reddit has banned users from impersonating anyone for the purpose of deception. Parodies are allowed. Deepfakes of politicians that are intended to deceive are also no longer allowed.

According to Reddit, impersonation is one of the least common cause of complaints it receives and so the new policy won’t affect many users much. The new policy is aimed at preventing deception on the platform.

The company also includes deepfakes. Pornographic deepfakes were already banned under the rules of involuntarily recorded porn, but now deepfakes that, for example, make politicians say things they never said are no longer allowed. It is still allowed if it is clearly intended as a parody or satire.

Reddit put the new rule online a few days after Facebook decided to ban deepfakes, though the two appear to be unrelated. Facebook’s policy focuses specifically on manipulated videos, while Reddit focuses on many more forms of deception.