What happened
On September 1, 2021, Reddit banned r/NoNewNormal, one of the platform's most prominent hubs for COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation, and placed 54 other subreddits under quarantine as part of a broader crackdown. Reddit said r/NoNewNormal was removed specifically for 'brigading,' or coordinated interference and harassment of other communities, citing signals that it had been the source of roughly 80 brigades over the prior 30 days, rather than for misinformation alone.
The action followed an organized community protest: led by r/vaxxhappened, more than 130 subreddits, many with millions of members, went private or restricted posting to demand stronger action after CEO Steve Huffman had initially defended keeping debate open in the name of dissent. The dueling pressures highlighted Reddit's difficulty in policing health misinformation while preserving its hands-off, community-governed ethos. The ban was welcomed by public-health advocates but criticized by others who argued Reddit had acted reluctantly and on procedural grounds rather than confronting the misinformation directly.