Reddit has long been touted as a platform that champions free speech and open dialogue, but a deeper look reveals a different reality. In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that Reddit employs strategies to control narratives, aligning with state-sponsored agendas. The algorithm and moderation practices are designed to create the illusion of overwhelming public support for certain viewpoints while silencing dissent.
Here’s how their strategy works, step by step:
Step 1: Amplify Supportive Opinions
For any given post, there will naturally be a wide range of opinions. Reddit’s first move is to identify comments that support the desired narrative. These comments are then given a massive boost in upvotes, often pushing them to the top of the thread. This upvoting can be so overwhelming that it creates the perception that these views are universally accepted.
Step 2: Suppress Opposing Voices
Comments that contradict or challenge the desired narrative are swiftly downvoted. This drives them to the bottom of the comment section, often collapsing them by default, making them harder to find and read. The result is that users are subtly nudged towards believing that dissenting opinions are not only unpopular but also fringe or misguided. This tactic takes advantage of human psychology, specifically our tendency to conform to what we perceive as the majority opinion — known as normative influence.
Step 3: If All Else Fails, Delete the Post
If the narrative control starts slipping and too many dissenting opinions gain traction, Reddit’s moderators can step in to delete the post entirely, citing vague rule violations. This ensures that any discussion that becomes too problematic is wiped from public view, effectively erasing it from the platform’s collective memory.
Case Study: The Tragic Fate of Peanut and Fred
One of the most recent examples of this strategy in action is the case of Peanut and Fred, two beloved animals who were caught in a tragic legal battle. Peanut, a squirrel unable to survive in the wild due to severe injuries, and Fred, a friendly raccoon, were under the care of Mark Longo, who runs an animal refuge in Pine City, NY. His refuge focuses on helping injured and abused animals rehabilitate.
Despite their safe and loving home, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Chemung County Department of Health arrived with a warrant and at least six officers, forcibly removing Peanut and Fred due to a lack of proper permits. The situation escalated when it was revealed that Peanut had reportedly bitten an investigator, leading to euthanasia for rabies testing. Fred was also euthanized on the grounds that raccoons are considered native rabies carriers.
The Reddit Reaction
When news of this incident hit Reddit, the platform’s narrative control mechanisms went into full effect.
Comments Supporting the Authorities: The top comments in the discussion were overwhelmingly supportive of the authorities’ actions.
Silencing Dissent: In stark contrast, comments expressing outrage at the decision to euthanize Peanut and Fred were downvoted into oblivion. Users who questioned the morality of killing these animals were met with heavy downvotes, collapsing their comments and burying them deep in the thread. Some of these comments even received replies ridiculing them, further discouraging any dissent.
The question remains: Is Reddit truly a platform for free speech, or is it a controlled environment where certain narratives are pushed while others are suppressed?
The experiences on Reddit and other social media platforms reveal a troubling reality: the illusion of free speech is pervasive. While these platforms present themselves as open forums for diverse opinions, they often employ subtle — and sometimes blatant — strategies to control the narrative. By selectively promoting content that aligns with certain viewpoints while suppressing or censoring dissent, they create an echo chamber that amplifies state-approved or establishment-friendly narratives.
This manipulation takes advantage of normative influence, where users are led to believe that the majority of people support a particular stance, thus discouraging alternative perspectives. The strategy is clear: boost the comments that align with the desired narrative, bury dissenting opinions under a pile of downvotes, and, if all else fails, outright delete the content under the guise of community standards.
It’s not just Reddit that engages in this behavior; it seems to be a broader trend across multiple platforms. For instance, speaking out about sensitive cases like the Peanut and Fred incident on TikTok reportedly risks getting your account banned. This shows that the control over public discourse extends beyond one platform, indicating a concerted effort to silence voices that challenge the status quo.
In a time when social media is the new public square, this kind of censorship is deeply concerning. It raises questions about the integrity of online discourse and the real state of free speech in the digital age. If platforms that are supposed to empower individual expression can be so easily swayed by external influences, then what hope is there for genuine, open dialogue? The conversation, it seems, may be more controlled than we would like to believe.
#JusticeForPeanut #JusticeForFred
