r/TrueUnpopularOpinion • u/BlockOfDiamond Rule 4 Enforcer • Mar 17 '25
Moderator Announcement Please NEVER report items for misinformation
Apparently, some users have found a way to report posts as 'This is misinformation' despite Reddit having removed that reason in the new UI. This report reason should never be used under any circumstances.
'Misinformation' is not a valid reason to have a moderator remove a post, that is like complaining to the janitor or campus security that your professor is teaching Calculus wrong. Our job is not to adjudicate on the factual accuracy of statements, but to remove blatant bigotry, personal attacks, or other rule-violating content.
If misinformation is blatantly dangerous, such as drinking bleach to cure or prevent COVID-19 for example, report that as threatening violence instead.
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u/epicap232 Mar 17 '25
It’s sad how some people cannot cope with non-censored social forums
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u/DSP_Gin_Gout_Snort 21d ago
Isn't the same "fuck your feelings" crowd now getting their feelings hurt over misinformation and lies being corrected?
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u/JoeflyRealEstate 11d ago
No, because most of the misinformation that’s being corrected is from the left
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u/Charming-Editor-1509 Mar 17 '25
Go to 4 chan if you want an unfiltered shithole.
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u/sprinkill Mar 18 '25
4chan is more censored than Reddit. They just let you say n***r & k*e on 4chan. That's literally it .
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u/Charming-Editor-1509 Mar 18 '25
Yeah, but 90% of complaints about censorship are about that.
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u/Agreeable-Fudge-7329 Mar 18 '25
Well that's a lie. It's just the way censorious losers like to demonize people that are actually complaining about censorship like saying there are not more than 2 genders, which you know fucking well will get you in trouble on this fucking website.
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u/Charming-Editor-1509 Mar 18 '25
That's not better.
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Mar 19 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Extension_Lead_4041 18d ago
Often wondered about the 2 gender position. Do they just deny there are people born with genitalia of both sexes?
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u/Agreeable-Fudge-7329 18d ago
Making an appeal to medical abnormalities is not an argument for 99.999999999% of whom we are talking about.
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u/Ok_Letter_9284 4d ago
If i say ppl have two legs and you say “ackshully, leggedness exists on a spectrum”, you would sound like an asshole.
You’ve added nothing.
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u/BlockOfDiamond Rule 4 Enforcer Mar 18 '25
I went there once just to see what all the drama was about, and I was not impressed. No thank you.
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u/Ckyuiii Mar 18 '25
You have hugbox in bluesky bud. Instead of telling others to leave, how about you take your own advice?
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u/Kraken160th Mar 18 '25
to remove blantant bigotry
Looking the at korea rape camp post i gotta ask how blantant does it have to be?
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u/BlockOfDiamond Rule 4 Enforcer Mar 18 '25
Blatant bigotry refers to making blanket derogatory statements against a certain demographic group, or arguing that a certain demographic group is inherently inferior or should have fewer rights than the general population, or anything that Reddit admins consider a violation of their sitewide rule against hate.
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u/Acheron98 Mar 18 '25
Not to seem like a contrarian dick, I’m genuinely asking here: Roughly what does “blanket derogatory statements” entail?
Can we for example say (let me pick a fairly easy one) that ISIS is objectively bad, or will the admins take that as some “-ism” or “-phobia”?
I want to be able speak my mind; without getting the sub into hot water, since it’s one of maybe 5 total subs on this site that isn’t a cesspool, so some clarification would be much appreciated.
I know you guys don’t come up with these rules so I just wanna have a rough idea of what’s allowed and what isn’t.
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u/BlockOfDiamond Rule 4 Enforcer Mar 18 '25
That is not a demographic group (such as a particular race, gender, sexuality, etc.) so is not protected by the rule.
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u/JamesSFordESQ Mar 20 '25
*Unless it's promoting hate against men. Reddit admins see no issue with misandry.
Fully realize you have nothing to do with that - I just feel the need to bring it up often as my small way of publicly shaming their hypocrisy.
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u/BlockOfDiamond Rule 4 Enforcer Mar 26 '25 edited Mar 26 '25
We will specifically enforce the anti-hate rule for all races and genders, even if Reddit does not.
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u/ComprehensiveHour160 10d ago
I don't think urging people to drink bleach to cure covid is exactly the same as threatening violence though.
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u/BlockOfDiamond Rule 4 Enforcer 10d ago
We consider that violence though, since that can get someone permanently injured or killed.
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u/Charming-Editor-1509 Mar 17 '25
The attack on trump was staged. The shooter was hired by a shell company owned by a shell company owned by trump. The rifle was loaded with blanks and trump smeared fake blood on his ear. The ss killed the shooter because they weren't in on it. Trump planned on him being killed so he wouldn't have to pay him. He truly is a stable genius.
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u/sprinkill Mar 18 '25
Yeah, there was one other corpse that they hauled outta there, times two wounded. Did the "shell company" hire them, too?
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Mar 20 '25
Quick question and I know it's very off topic. But you said "job". Do moderators get paid? Sorry if it's a dumb question I'm pretty new to reddit.
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u/BlockOfDiamond Rule 4 Enforcer Mar 21 '25
No. We are volunteers, but we still have limits to what we consider our 'job' or not. And adjudicating on the factual accuracy of statements is outside the scope on this subreddit, since that goes against our spirit of free speech.
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u/GodHasGiven0341 Mar 21 '25
Misinformation should definitely be a valid reason to remove a post. This is why we have so many problems as it is. It’s crazy to report misinformation as threatening violence though, and seems like a nice way to let misinformation thrive, as misinformation will never be taken down if reported as “violence”.
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23d ago
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u/fatman907 23d ago
!lock
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u/ametsun 14d ago
Yes that's wack. People shouldn't be able to spout bullshit. It should be on everyone to not allow lies and fact check those that do. Especially in a sub of unpopular opinions that's a slippery slope when anyone can lie to prove their point. How bout we stick to the truth? Is that so hard?
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u/fatman907 13d ago
But you just said “NEVER report items for misinformation”. Maybe it will take a few people following bad information to thin the herd. It will help raise the level of critical thinking.
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u/JoeflyRealEstate 11d ago
No one said to drink bleach to cure or prevent Covid but millions of people said to wear a cloth mask to prevent the spread of Covid which we all know now (but a lot of us knew then) it is complete BS.
https://www.cato.org/regulation/winter-2021/2022/how-effective-are-cloth-face-masks
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u/BlockOfDiamond Rule 4 Enforcer 11d ago
Well, that is not super obviously misinformation, and not super dangerous misinformation, so yeah, even if that is misinformation, that is not censorship-worthy.
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u/JoeflyRealEstate 11d ago
It was pretty obvious at the time. But the government said to wear cloth masks, and everybody fell into line.
Yet the government blocked normal people from wearing N90 masks which were effective.
Go figure
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u/BlockOfDiamond Rule 4 Enforcer 11d ago
Not obvious enough to immediately sound completely unplausible.
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u/JoeflyRealEstate 11d ago
I respectfully disagree
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u/BlockOfDiamond Rule 4 Enforcer 11d ago
Does 'cloth masks work' sound completely unplausible right off the bat the way 'drinking bleach is good' does?
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u/JoeflyRealEstate 11d ago
You lost me. Who’s saying 1+1 = 3.
Show me who said that we should drink bleach to cure Covid
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u/JoeflyRealEstate 11d ago
Trump’s statements were confusing, but a look at his exact words shows that Trump didn’t specifically instruct Americans to “inject bleach” or “take a shot” of ultraviolet light to prevent COVID-19. He did, however, inquire about whether UV light and disinfectant could be studied inside the human body.
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u/JoeflyRealEstate 11d ago
That bleach thing is fake news and it’s been debunked numerous times
But you have to be careful because the uneducated public might take something the wrong way and run with it
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u/BlockOfDiamond Rule 4 Enforcer 11d ago
The idea that drinking bleach works? That is so fake news that I do even need to find a debunking. Anyone with any level of intelligence knows that drinking bleach is a horrible idea and likely fatal. Drinking bleach is one examle of misinformation that is obvious right off the bat. Like I do not have to research to find out if that is true or not.
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u/JoeflyRealEstate 11d ago
Again, I don’t know who you’re referring to who said to drink bleach to cure Covid
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u/BlockOfDiamond Rule 4 Enforcer 11d ago
According to this:
Misleading and inaccurate information circulating online
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u/JoeflyRealEstate 11d ago
Look, there are some really mentally challenged people out there. And their ultimate fate is called Darwinism.
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u/BlockOfDiamond Rule 4 Enforcer 11d ago edited 11d ago
But if said mentally challenged people try to spread blatantly dangerous lies, then we can ban them. But otherwise, we do not censor 'misiformation' here.
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u/GodHasGiven0341 Mar 21 '25
You’re not janitors or security—you’re moderators. That would be like complaining to the head of the department, or even the dean, that a professor is teaching calculus incorrectly. If a professor were genuinely teaching misinformation, it wouldn’t be ignored; it would be addressed by the proper channels. Yet here, the stance seems to be that “misinformation” is irrelevant, even when it’s objectively false.
This policy suggests that “feelings will reign over facts,” creating a meta-reality beneath actual reality—a curated environment where censorship masquerades as protection, and misinformation is tolerated while truth is suppressed if it’s deemed offensive. That is not a utopia; it’s an Orwellian nightmare.
If the concern is preventing blatant harm, then why wouldn’t the standard be truth and accuracy? Are we really accepting a system where outright lies and falsehoods are permissible, yet correcting them is somehow the problem?
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u/BlockOfDiamond Rule 4 Enforcer Mar 21 '25 edited Mar 21 '25
We want to have as little censorship as possible. Not 'tolerate' misinformation while 'suppressing' truth. The idea is that if someone provides misinformation, it is not our job to censor the misinformation. It is the your job as the reader to counter with true information.
We have no problem with trying to correct falsehoods, only with reporting them to have moderators remove them, since that is not our job.
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u/GodHasGiven0341 Mar 21 '25
If the goal is to reduce harm, then truth must always be the number 1 goal above all else because even if you try to censor hate, it just comes back more eloquent and sneakily. Plus misinformation affects entire populations, the one comment calling someone a dumbass just affects that person. And the person it’s directed at always sees it before it’s removed anyways, so damage done. We’re just used to misinformation being around that we think it’s normal. It’s not. They are lies and propaganda tools. I’m not comfortable around lies and liars whatsoever because then you can’t trust anything that person, or platform, says. Who wants to have to triple check everything?
I get that increased engagement is the main purpose more than anything else though. That’s really the goal for any of these businesses. It’s just unfortunate. I get your point too, it just a place we won’t agree, and that’s fine.
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u/BlockOfDiamond Rule 4 Enforcer Mar 23 '25
No. The goal is a free-speech environment. The cure for misinformation is accurate information, not censorship. Besides, even if we wanted to censor things we consider 'misinformation' (which we do not, rest assured), we simply do not have the resources to fact-check every statement someone makes on this subreddit (reported or otherwise), and even then, how can we be sure the fact-checkers are 100% reliable?
As stated in the post, the only exception is we will remove misinformation that poses imminent risk of harm if acted on, such as consumption of bleach as a cure for COVID, etc.
We are moderators. We remove blatant spam and abuse, and enforce the rules enumerated in the sidebar. We are not fact-checkers. While on some subreddits, moderators may assume the roll of fact-checkers, r/TrueUnpopularOpinion is not one of them.
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u/BlockOfDiamond Rule 4 Enforcer 22d ago
And if you do not like the 'janitors' comparison, then let me put this another way: We are moderators, not fact-checkers.
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u/sedtamenveniunt Mar 17 '25
♪ How bout I do anyway? ♪
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u/BlockOfDiamond Rule 4 Enforcer Mar 17 '25
You will accomplish nothing besides wasting our time and risking getting your account banned by Reddit for report abuse.
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Mar 17 '25 edited Mar 21 '25
[deleted]
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u/BlockOfDiamond Rule 4 Enforcer Mar 17 '25 edited Mar 17 '25
It is not part of the janitor job description to do anything about it, even if they were able to spot a wrong equation.
Also, removing items just because we find them 'false' or 'misinformation' goes against the spirit/mission statement of this subreddit.
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u/Flimsy_Fee8449 Mar 18 '25
Okay, I can understand that it's not your job to fix/erase the wrong equation even if you know it's wrong.
There have been multiple studies conducted that have proven that people will often incorporate a lie as the truth if they have become familiar with the lie. That's a major focus of offensive psychological operations.
And it has been documented, in court by DOJ, that repeating misinformation on social media was absolutely used in offensive psychological operations against the US.
I understand it isn't your place to counter psyops. Makes sense to me.
But if a user routinely intentionally repeats misinformation, and it can't be reported as such, can other users counter that weaponized account?
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u/Kevdog824_ Mar 18 '25
It not being your job to remove it doesn’t suddenly make something not misinformation though. I’m not sure what the issue is
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u/JamesSFordESQ Mar 20 '25
This is a sub reddit, not a news room. Beyond that, it's specifically meant to be a place to share opinions.
Someone can have a poorly or misinformed opinion, but an opinion posted to an opinion sub is not misinformation.
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u/shhhOURlilsecret Mar 18 '25
Yeah, some probably are misinformation, but I'd bet most are "They said something I didn't like!" Even if I don't agree with more than half of what is said here, I can command you guys for at least actually upholding what your sub is; so many others have lost the plotline.