Reddit is apparently shadowbanning posts that contain links to the popular file-hosting service Openload. Such posts are now hidden and the links are removed from the public eye.
For the unacquainted, Openload is one of the largest file-hosting sites on the web, but it is often under scanner because of the frequent appearance of pirated content on the platform.
According to TorrentFreak, users who submit a post with Openload link can see it just fine, but other Reddit users cannot view the post as they appear removed.
Here’s a glimpse of what it looks like for the submitter:
And this is what the post in question looks like for other Redditors:
It seems like Reddit really doesn’t want any Openload content on its platform because even moderators are unable to “approve” such posts manually.
“Reddit gives no explanation for how their filter works. This proves difficult for some users who often post collections of links in their threads,” said /r/piracy subreddit moderator ‘dysgraphical.’
Moreover, there are other URLs besides Openload which have been blacklisted such as mobilism.org and a few others. However, some of them are ‘soft-filtered’ as they can be manually approved.
Reddit is yet to comment on the matter but it seems like these steps were taken to prevent spam or to limit the number of copyright complaints.
