A Reddit moderator made the decision to end his thread supporting Sen. Bernie Sanders Monday in response to vicious attacks and death threats.
Sanders was a contender for the Democratic nomination but conceded when it was clear primary rival Hillary Clinton would win. Subreddit moderator Aidan King made the decision to shut down the 225,000 member pro-Sanders thread because he was tired of dealing with hateful conversations, trolls and death threats.
“That does not change how I feel about the current state of this community,” King wrote before the thread was taken down. “I have seen over two dozen death threats aimed at Bernie, in addition to the HUNDREDS of threats, vulgar attacks, and trollish behavior that’s been flying around for the last month or so. Not to mention the hundred or so death threats aimed at me.”
King was almost immediately met with all manner of angry attacks and insults. Some commentators called him extremely tasteless and a disgrace. Others added that he sickened them and that he was “dumb as shit.” He was also accused of being paid off by the Clinton campaign.
“This is a measure taken at least just for tonight due to trolling and threats that have been made,” King said in an updated post. “We realize that many delegates have been and will be using the page for reporting, among other things, and we acted overly hastily. For that, I apologize. We will proceed through the convention and the roll call.”
King originally planned to keep the thread up until after the Democratic National Convention. Vocativ first spotted the announcement before the thread was officially taken down. Nearly every popular thread on the Reddit includes rules of conduct made by the moderator. Political discussion are often required to have some form of civility.
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