A forum on Reddit dedicated for people sharing information about the Trump would-be assassin has been shut down for violating Reddit’s policies. Thomas Mathew Crooks the would-be assassin was killed by a sniper after firing multiple shots at President Donald Trump on July 13th in Butler, PA.
Reddit has banned the “Thomas Crooks” subreddit, citing violations of its rules against posting violent content. The subreddit, now removed, had gained significant traction, engaging users who sought to share information and ask questions about the assassination attempt on the 2024 GOP presidential nominee.
Discussions often centered around Thomas Crooks, security lapses during the event, and speculation about whether it was an inside job. Despite the ban, Reddit did not provide specific examples of the content it deemed to violate its policies.
This move by Reddit comes amid growing criticism of tech companies for censoring information related to the assassination attempt, especially as the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election approaches. Both Google and Facebook have faced backlash for similar actions.
Google, for instance, was accused of scrubbing any mention of the assassination attempt from its autocomplete feature, while Facebook flagged and restricted images of President Trump raising his fist after the attempt, falsely claiming they were AI-generated. After facing accusations of election interference from the Trump campaign and GOP lawmakers, both companies revised their actions.
