by Jordyn M
Reddit has taken down a popular forum dedicated to discussing the assassination attempt on former President Donald J. Trump.
The forum, known as the “Thomas Crooks” subreddit, was banned for allegedly violating Reddit’s rules against posting violent content.
The assassination attempt, which occurred on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, ended with the death of would-be assassin Thomas Crooks at the hands of snipers.
This event, described as one of the most historical in United States history, has since become a topic of intense interest and speculation.
Reddit bans forum dedicated to sharing information about would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks | The Post Millennial | https://t.co/TLQ87ibgJM https://t.co/RCflEAxAR7
— D_man1_cornpop (@D_man1_cornpop) October 9, 2024
Reddit’s decision to ban the forum has raised eyebrows and sparked debate about the limits of free speech and the role of social media platforms in controlling information.
The Post Millenial’s Katie Daviscourt reported that the now-defunct subreddit had been a hub for users seeking answers and sharing information about the incident.
Discussions ranged from questions about Crooks himself to speculation about potential security failures and even theories suggesting an inside job.
While Reddit cited violations of its policies against violent content as the reason for the ban, the company has not provided specific examples of the offending material.
This lack of transparency has led some to question the motives behind the decision, especially given the forum’s high level of engagement prior to its removal.
On X, news about Thomas Crooks being "Anti-immigration" gets flooded with community notes and replies about his Gab account.
On Reddit, the mods lock the thread so no one can discuss how the headline is misinformation.
Delete Reddit. pic.twitter.com/OM6ePgMMiX
— Reddit Lies (@reddit_lies) July 31, 2024
The ban comes at a sensitive time, with the 2024 US Presidential Election on the horizon.
It also follows similar actions by other tech giants, including Google and Facebook, which have faced criticism for their handling of information related to the assassination attempt.
Google found itself in hot water when it was discovered that the company had removed the assassination attempt from its autocomplete search engine feature.
Daviscourt previously reported that this move was seen by some as an attempt to suppress information about the incident, leading to accusations of potential election interference.
Facebook, meanwhile, faced backlash for warning users against sharing photographs of President Trump raising his fist in the air after the shooting, falsely claiming these images were AI-generated.
Both companies have since addressed these issues following pressure from the Trump campaign and Republican lawmakers.
"Thomas Matthew Crooks" had an FBI email address and his profile was created on March 18, 2020.
This was exactly one week after the WHO declared "COVID" a pandemic. pic.twitter.com/ba16K3IHFV— foundring 🇺🇸 (@foundring1) July 24, 2024
According to NBC Washington, Thomas Matthew Crooks was frequently bullied for things like wearing a mask when in high school.
This is former classmate Jason Kohler. Everything about his demeanor and speech patterns are bizarre and off to me, what do you think? pic.twitter.com/mpIZ9UvD98
— L (@SomeBitchIIKnow) July 14, 2024
The actions of these tech companies have reignited the ongoing debate about the role of Big Tech in controlling the flow of information, particularly concerning politically sensitive topics.
More Democrat censorship and propaganda. You can’t accidentally miss the fascist tendencies; you have to accept and ignore it.