Reddit Gives Final Warning to Subreddits Using NSFW Protest Tactic

To stamp out any remaining protests, Reddit is sending “final warnings” to subreddits that decided to permit NSFW content as a way to derail the company’s advertising business. 

Reddit sent warnings to subreddits including r/PICs, r/Military, r/dndmemes, and r/JustNoMil, which was first noticed(Opens in a new window) by The Verge. The message states: “This is a final warning for inaccurately labeling your community NSFW, which is a violation of the Mod Code of Conduct rule 2(Opens in a new window). Your subreddit has not historically been considered NSFW nor would they under our current policies.”

The warning threatens to punish volunteer moderators of the affected subreddits. “Please immediately correct the NSFW labeling on your subreddit. Failure to do so will result in action being taken on your moderator team by the end of this week,” Reddit told(Opens in a new window) the moderators of r/PICs. “This means moderators involved in this activity will be removed from this mod team.” 

(Credit: r/dndmemes)

According to Reddit’s own rules, NSFW subreddits are barred(Opens in a new window) from serving ads. So the protest tactic risks harming a main way the social media platform generates revenue. Other subreddits—including r/cyberpunkgame and r/bookscirclejerk—received(Opens in a new window) similar warnings to drop NSFW content, but without the harsh warning that moderators could be removed.

Reddit didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But the company has previously told PCMag it intends to crack down on subreddits for permitting NSFW content as a way to protest the company’s controversial API change. This has already involved removing the entire moderator team for r/interestingasfuck, r/self, r/TIHI (Thanks, I hate it), and r/shittylifeprotips.

“It’s not OK to show people NSFW content when they don’t want to see it,” a Reddit spokesperson said at the time. “In line with our Moderator Code of Conduct(Opens in a new window), we’ll remove moderators and restrict communities where moderators are engaging in malicious conduct, like allowing rule-violating behavior or encouraging the submission of sexually explicit content in previously safe-for-work spaces.”

The final warning was enough to cause the moderators for r/Military—a forum partly devoted to helping veterans—to stop operating as a NSFW subreddit. “We are now stuck in a difficult position as we do not want the community to die,” the moderator team wrote(Opens in a new window). “We’ve worked together for years and we are concerned that Reddit removing us without a discussion could put the community more at risk.”

However, the r/PICs subreddit wants to remain a NSFW destination, citing the adult and profane content that users often post. “We are not in violation of the cited rule as it is written. Moreover, according to Reddit’s listed policies, our subreddit is considered NSFW,” the moderators for r/PICs told(Opens in a new window) Reddit. 

The r/JustNoMil subreddit—which is devoted to terrible mothers-in-law—also wanted to continue hosting NSFW content, but ultimately decided to drop it.

“While we’re obviously aware that Reddit is a for-profit company, the recent weeks have made it very clear that Reddit is not a website that allows people to host communities for its members, but rather a company that allows people to maintain communities for them and for their profit,” a r/JustNoMil moderator wrote.