Elon Musk Pressured Reddit CEO During Moderator Revolt—What Went Down

Hey folks, buckle in for this wild one—Elon Musk wasn’t just tweeting through the drama when Reddit moderators revolted over his alleged Nazi-style salute back in January. According to a bombshell report from The Verge, Musk was privately pressuring Reddit CEO Steve Huffman to crack down on critics at the exact same time mods began banning links to Musk’s platform, X. Subreddits like r/Military and even the usually apolitical r/Nintendo joined in, voicing disgust over Musk’s behavior—one mod summed it up with the elegant phrase: “F*** that guy.” Despite widespread backlash and Musk joking through Nazi accusations with puns like “His pronouns would’ve been He/Himmler,” the Reddit team issued a vague response about enforcing policy, without denying Musk's behind-the-scenes influence. All this raises concerns about the power Musk wields—not just across platforms he owns, but even in spaces he doesn’t.

Key Points:

• According to The Verge, Musk privately messaged Reddit CEO Steve Huffman during Reddit’s moderator revolt, allegedly urging him to take action against Musk critics.
• The revolt was sparked after Musk appeared to make a Nazi-style salute at Trump’s inauguration event—he didn’t deny it initially but later dismissed the gesture as a “joke.”
• Over 100 subreddits, including r/NFL, r/Nintendo, and r/Military, responded by banning links to Musk’s platform X.
• Reddit’s official statement didn’t deny the communication, instead saying they “take reports of Reddit policy violations seriously.”
• The subreddit r/WhitePeopleofTwitter was banned for 72 hours after angry users reacted to DOGE—a Musk-affiliated group—leaking sensitive information.
• Moderators felt Huffman may have acted under Musk’s influence; one said: “It’s problematic that he’s able to exert influence on both public and private institutions.”
• Tesla allegedly fired an employee who complained about Musk’s Nazi jokes, the New York Times reported.
• Other far-right figures like Steve Bannon and Andrew Tate mimicked the controversial salute in the weeks after Musk’s gesture.
• Critics say Musk’s influence reaches far beyond his companies, making him a dangerous power player as his political and tech empires grow.

Quote of the episode: “I find it a bit problematic that he’s able to exert influence on both public and private institutions.” — Reddit Moderator (reported by The Verge)

Stay tuned, because if Elon Musk has Reddit’s CEO on speed dial, just imagine who’s next.
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