Reddit’s largest tabletop communities say “fuck Nazis”

Some of the largest tabletop communities on Reddit have banned links from Twitter/X after Elon Musk, who owns the social media platform cracked off two unequivocal Nazi salutes during Donald Trump’s January 20th inauguration. 

The RPG and Dungeons & Dragons subreddits both announced today that they would no longer allow posts to contain direct links to content from Twitter/X, but that screenshots would be allowed where appropriate. Musk appeared on the inauguration stage as our new oligarch-apparent, where he thanked the crowd before slapping his hand over his heart and thrusting it into the air—palm down. Twice. On national television.

As the Fallout 4 meme goes, everyone disliked that. Or, at least a vast majority of Reddit users did by immediately voicing their disgust. Within 48 hours, hundreds of subreddits had unceremoniously deplatformed Twitter/X citing a disinterest in supporting proud fascists. The social media platform had already been hemorrhaging users to alternatives such as Bluesky for months, and Musk's increasingly unhinged behavior and disconcerting proximity to federal power helped transform Twitter/X into a bot and grifter-riddled husk of its former heights.

Moderators for the D&D and RPG subreddits, which report 5 million and 1.4 million users respectively, announced today that they would follow suit. The former community enacted a poll, wherein 90% of respondents said links from the platform should be banned. An additional question showed 85.2% of respondents wish to keep AI-generated content off the subreddit. 

Roughly three hours later, the r/RPG moderators issued a more direct decree: “We don't see Twitter/X links on here very often, but we think solidarity in the face of fascism is critically important. We'll be following suit with the many other subs on reddit banning Twitter/X links.” The short mod post finishes by pointing users towards Bluesky, commenting on the near unanimous community response, and capped it off with a blunt, “fuck Nazis.”

Wider media’s response to blatant displays of fascism were not as encouraging. A meteorologist in Milwaukee was reportedly fired after lambasting Musk on her personal social media. The Anti-Defamation League posted an impressively spineless tweet calling the Nazi salutes “an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm.” Too many professional newsrooms hemmed and hawed over language that might protect them from our new vindictive president (who will no doubt create his own reasons for hating them anyway). 

I don’t know what it says that a bunch of roleplay hobbyists have less trouble calling out national displays of fascism than decades-old papers of record, but tabletop’s contingent on Reddit has broadly chosen to oust one of the most powerful self-reported Nazis in the country. For the record, r/boardgames is actively discussing it—perhaps they’re simply out of workers for this turn.