Reddit refuses to take stricter action against COVID-19 misinformation

Disinformation is rampant in propaganda subreddits that are convincing users of misleading information - including claims like vaccines are unsafe, masks are not useful, and social distancing is unnecessary, the letter added.

Community discussion portal Reddit was recently accused by a group of moderators for permitting COVID-19 misinformation to thrive on the platform. Reddit has now come forward to reject those claims and has said that dissent and debate form the foundation of the social network. (Subscribe to our Today's Cache newsletter for a quick snapshot of top 5 tech stories. Click to subscribe for free.) A group of moderators, including those having over 10 million subscribers, wrote a letter to Reddit last week calling on the platform to take harsher measures against the spread of COVID-19 misinformation. The letter noted that Reddit has done “nothing of substance” to tackle false information aside from suspending a medium sized subreddit, which barely reduces traffic and does little to stop misinformation on the platform.