All articles tagged with #moderation
The WNBA says it has no affiliation with or moderation role in the r/WNBA subreddit after reports it banned mentions of Sophie Cunningham; r/WNBA later clarified that Sophie content is allowed when basketball-related, and instituted a 50-karma posting requirement to curb trolls, as the broader debate over transgender athletes and online hate continues to unfold alongside Cunningham's comments.
Instagram is enforcing its bullying and harassment rules against videos filmed with Meta's Ray-Ban AI glasses that feature pickup lines and pranks, removing some content while enforcement appears uneven; the move follows Adam Mosseri’s remarks and includes search-term blocks like 'rizz' and 'cold approach', raising questions about how AI moderation will scale for Meta's own devices while other platforms also act.
Brad Pitt reveals he’s drinking again after seven years sober and 18 months in AA, describing his current use as “a few glasses” to stay professional. Addiction experts caution that relapse is common and recovery is a spectrum, noting moderation can work for some but not all, and stressing there isn’t a single path to sobriety.
Brad Pitt reveals in Esquire that he's begun drinking again after seven years sober, but only in moderation and not in large quantities, saying he can have a few drinks but must stay disciplined. He has spoken openly about his sober-curious journey, credited Bradley Cooper with helping him get sober, and discussed grief and his divorce from Angelina Jolie as factors in his path, stressing his goal is to avoid relapse.
A Fox Business investigation finds Coca-Cola’s 18-character can-personalization tool inconsistently blocks religious and political phrases (e.g., 'Jesus is Lord', 'Make America Great') while allowing others like 'Defund the Police' and 'Proud Boys'; alarms rise after reports that 'Pedophile Pride' and 'MAP Pride' were permitted. Coca‑Cola says the issue is technical, has paused new orders, and is reviewing moderation rules.
TikTok says its automated moderation flagged a Perez Hilton livestream that appeared to show self-harm, but the platform kept the stream up for about 15 minutes before banning Hilton and notifying law enforcement. The incident has amplified concerns about moderation speed and consistency on the platform, as well as broader policy implications amid other TikTok developments.
Reddit announced plans to alter Old Reddit, including requiring login to access the legacy site and migrating critical bot and moderator workflows to its modern stack, in an effort to curb abusive scraping. The company says it will explore options with communities and developers, with no firm timeline, while continuing to push API changes that steer third-party apps to the Developer Platform, continuing a broader battle over automation and access.
Reddit is moving to curb AI scraping by planning changes to Old Reddit, migrating bots and moderator workflows to its modern stack, and gradually restricting access—potentially blocking logged-out users. The company is phasing out its public API in favor of the Developer Platform, while expanding a Rules Hub moderation system to replace AutoMod in the future, with no hard timeline but clear intent to push developers and communities toward the new stack.
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov says a takedown extortionist planted AI-modified CSAM in a public group to pressure Apple into removing Telegram from the App Store; Apple briefly pulled the app and restored it after Telegram removed the content. Durov warns this could pose a systemic risk to any mobile app hosting user-generated content, while Apple has not commented on the claim.
Apple briefly pulled Telegram from the App Store over CSAM violations, saying Telegram violated its guidelines; The company restored the app after Telegram removed the offending content and banned the user who posted it. Telegram pushed back, citing its moderation efforts and noting it has removed hundreds of CSAM-related groups and channels, with Apple having previously removed Telegram in 2018. Users could still access Telegram during the brief outage.
Discord says a bug in its safety system briefly banned more than 8,000 accounts for posting grid-like or other benign images; staff cleared the flags, but the automatic lift didn’t happen, and all affected users have since been unbanned.
A rising North Texas trend called zebra striping—alternating alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic options—gains popularity, especially among Gen Z and younger Millennials, as a harm-reduction approach to pace drinking and stay hydrated. Bars are expanding mocktails and alcohol-free options, and research suggests the pattern can slow alcohol consumption and reduce dehydration, though it’s not a guaranteed fix if people extend nights or opt for stronger drinks. The trend is also fueling growth in the non-alcoholic beer market and reflects a broader shift toward moderation in social drinking.
Kotaku reports that Plantation Simulator, a racist slavery-themed game released on Steam by developer FzzyBzzy, has sparked widespread backlash while Valve has not commented. The top-down sim tasks players with enslaving Black workers to grow crops; Valve's own guidelines ban content meant to shock, yet the game remained on Steam with a mature description. An update changed Black slaves to white, then added hearts and kissing interactions, spurring a flood of negative reviews that often included racist remarks. Kotaku reached out to Valve for comment with no reply at publication, and the game remains on Steam. Critics say Valve’s moderation is lax and inconsistent, calling for better tools to curb hate on the platform.
Kotaku reports that the RuPaul’s Drag Race subreddit has banned Tomodachi Life posts to curb meme floods during the off-season, removing most content and allowing exceptions for genuinely good posts or those posted on “Shitpost Tuesday.” Tomodachi Life fans on their own subreddit react with amusement, while the meme surge has spilled into other communities, prompting a lighthearted reminder to keep Tomodachi Life posts in their own zones.
Nutrition expert Jane Leverich debunks the idea that 12 common foods are inherently unhealthy, emphasizing that moderation, preparation, and context matter more than blanket labels—from seed oils and white rice to eggs, butter, potatoes, granola bars, chips, salt, ice cream, dried fruit, diet soda, and red meat.