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Discord bans WallStreetBets as subreddit briefly goes private

Investors in GameStop and AMC briefly saw red as the WallStreetBets subreddit went private...

Enlarge / Investors in GameStop and AMC briefly saw red as the WallStreetBets subreddit went private… (credit: StockSnap)

The WallStreetBets subreddit (WSB), widely credited with kickstarting GameStop’s epic stock run in recent weeks, was briefly taken private by moderators Wednesday night amid a tsunami of “so many comments and submissions that we can’t possibly even read them all, let alone act on them as moderators.” Discord also took steps to permanently ban the official WallStreetBets channel, citing moderators for “continuing to allow hateful and discriminatory content after repeated warnings.”

Discord was the first to act, shutting down the WSB server sometime around 6 p.m. In a statement provided to the press, the social media service said the WSB Discord server “has been on our Trust & Safety team’s radar for some time due to occasional content that violates our Community Guidelines, including hate speech, glorifying violence, and spreading misinformation. Over the past few months, we have issued multiple warnings to the server admin.”

The statement goes on to specifically clarify that the move was not “due to financial fraud related to GameStop or other stocks. Discord welcomes a broad variety of personal finance discussions, from investment clubs and day traders to college students and professional financial advisors.”

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