Pokemon Go Reddit goes private in protest of ‘fake news’ subreddits
NianticPokemon Go’s community is one of the biggest on the internet. Its large presence on Reddit has held Niantic to account countless times and was ever-growing with anybody able to join – until now.
The subreddit’s moderators have posted a message on the page, confirming that the Pokemon Go Reddit has gone private. This means that its content cannot be seen by people that are not “approved members,” and that randoms cannot join discussions.
The mods have laid out some terms for Reddit to follow if they wish to see the page return to public status.
In the last few months, the community has written open letters to Niantic to combat changes to bonuses (to help players reach Pokestops and Gyms during the global health crisis). This sparked a peaceful boycott of the mobile game, which led to them reversing such decisions.
Pokemon Go Reddit ‘r/pokemongo’ goes private
On August 30, the moderators took swift action to make the page private, posting a message on the landing page about the ways the decision could be reversed.
They said: “We have gone private in protest of Reddit’s inaction against Covid misinformation. As our users know Covid directly impacts this game because Go is played outside in real life with others.
“We have stood against Covid misinformation publicly before, and stood with the community when they petitioned Niantic to return the 80m distances so we could continue to play safely. To that end, we will stay private until NoNewNormal and similar subs dedicated entirely to misinformation are banned.”
Reddit: r/PokemonGoWhy is the Pokemon Go subreddit private?
Misinformation spreads like wildfire on social media platforms, and members of the subreddit are concerned that these rumors and conspiracies directly impact their ability to play Pokemon Go. In response, they’re making a stand.
One user said: “As our users know, Covid directly impacts this specific set of gamers because Go is played outside in real life with others.
“We have stood against Covid misinformation publicly several times, and stood with the community when they petitioned Niantic to return the 80m interaction distances so we could continue to play safely.
“To this end, we petition Reddit. We request that they take visible and immediate action against subs that are dedicated to spreading misinformation.”
Whether or not Pokemon Go’s Reddit page will return to being public in the near future remains to be seen.
One thing is for certain, though, and that’s Reddit and other social media platforms have a responsibility to manage the content posted on their channels – including ‘fake news’ or misinformation.
While this may seem insignificant in isolation, for the fight against misinformation, it could start a domino effect to force action between major subreddit pages, each of which houses thousands of members.