Overview

Reddit's "Luigi" Ban refers to discussions about Reddit's updated content moderation tools flagging the word "Luigi" on some subreddits, which led to controversy on the platform in March 2025. The discussions emerged after a moderator on the subreddit /r/PopCulture noted that a comment containing the name was flagged for "Violence" by the Reddit auto moderator. The moderator then announced that /r/PopCulture has been placed on "restricted mode" due to a lack of moderators, adding, "Apparently saying 'luigi' is now against the rules too even though they never told us. All comments with the word 'luigi' get flagged as possible inciting violence." The post was accompanied by screenshots that show the name being flagged in reference to both the suspected CEO shooter (Luigi Mangione) and the Super Mario character.

Background

On March 5th, 2025, Reddit^[8] administrator /u/worstnerd made a post to the subreddit /r/RedditSafety noting that the site is unrolling new rules in which users found upvoting "violent" will receive "a warning."

On March 6th, 2025, Redditor^[7] /u/ConfidentPilot1729 posted to /r/ABoringDystopia, writing, " Reddit is giving warnings to upvoting support for Luigi. No post, not threatening violence, just upvoting something that I am not really sure what it was about but probably that."

On March 7th, 2025, Redditor^[1] /u/pumpkinspicecum posted to /r/popculturechat, writing, " /r/popculture is closed." The post read, "This sub has been placed in restricted mode and the main mod was suspended for approving comments that mentioned 'luigi'… All comments with the word 'luigi' get flagged as possible inciting violence."

The post originally claimed that the main moderator was suspended for upvoting a Guardian article about the AI Trump-Musk video.

Developments

On March 7th, 2025, Redditor^[2] /u/pumpkinspicecum made a post to the subreddit /r/FreeLuigi writing, "PSA, the word Luigi is now flagged by Reddit for violence." The post contained a screenshot of a user's comment that read, "can we talk about Luigi's Mansion 3 though?" The post gathered over 2,000 upvotes in three days.

The post came a day after Reddit administrators introduced new rules about "warning" users who upvote (not just submit) any "violent" content. On March 7th, 2025, Reddit administrator /u/redtaboo replied to a post on /r/SubredditDrama clarifying the new rules, saying that the no names were banned "sitewide," and that context will be taken into consideration in the application of the new rules.^[3]

On March 7th, Redditor^[4] /u/SRDscavenger made a post recounting the /r/Popculture moderator's updates about the name "Luigi" being flagged for violence on the subreddit, gathering over 14,000 upvotes in two days.

On March 8th, 2025, Redditor /u/marketrent made a post to /r/technology sharing an article by The Verge that discusses the Reddit moderation tool that flagged "Luigi" as potentially violent content.^[5][6]

Online Reactions

Several Redditors on the subreddit /r/dankmemes reacted to the "Luigi Ban," as seen in a March 9th, 2025, post by /u/higginsian24 that referenced the It's Honest Work meme, gathering over 1,000 upvotes in a day.^[9]

On March 10th, 2025, Redditor^[10] /u/SAM_AIVEN posted a Two Buttons meme about the new Reddit moderation policies, gathering over 17,000 upvotes in a day.

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References