Major Reddit Communities Are Protesting Against COVID-19 Misinformation On The Site

Over 240 subreddits have signed an open letter to Reddit admin team to voice their protest against coronavirus misinformation on the site, with some communities also going into lockdown.

The subreddits, including heavyweights such as /r/aww, /r/pics, /r/showerthoughts and /r/tifu, have signed an open letter to Reddit administration demanding to curb the spread of COVID-19 misinformation on the platform and asking to ban communities that exist solely to spread medical disinformation and undermine efforts to combat the global pandemic.

Lies are repeated so frequently that misinformed people begin to believe them wholeheartedly, trusting that they can't be incorrect because they're surrounded by people who believe it also. […]
There is a good chance that the disinformation that reddit is currently inundated with will necessitate people a stay at the toxicology department in the hospital or even cost them their lives. There can be no room for leniency when people are dying as a result of misinformation on this platform. Reddit as a global platform needs to take responsibility here.

The letter, posted by moderator of /r/aww, /r/pics, /r/gifs and other major communities, was submitted to /r/vaxxhappened and currently sits at over 81,000 upvotes.

In addition to signing the letter, some subreddit, such as popular meme community /r/196, also went into lockdown to bring attention to the issue.

In April 2020, Reddit admins addressed the issue of COVID-19-related misinformation on the website, promising to investigate claims of coordinated attempts to spread misinformation and cooperate with other social media platforms to curb false information.