Elon Musk privately contacted Reddit CEO Steve Huffman to request the removal of content critical of employees at the Department of Government Efficiency, according to media reports on Thursday.

The move reportedly resulted in Reddit taking down a specific thread hosted on the r/WhitePeopleTwitter subreddit and issuing a 72-hour ban on the community for what the company cited as a "prevalence of violent content."

Newsweek was unable to verify these reports. When contacted, a spokesperson for Reddit told Newsweek that the site takes all reports of policy violations very seriously. Musk was also contacted for comment on this story via email.

Why It Matters

As head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk takes the reputation of the agency and its employees, many of whom he handpicked, very seriously. He has repeatedly defended them online and accused critics of "doxxing" (revealing private information online) them.

What To Know

According to a report from The Verge , Musk's complaint to Huffman came after he had publicly accused Reddit users of breaking laws by posting about DOGE employees.

Musk had earlier criticized the content publicly on X , the platform he owns, describing user comments targeting DOGE staffers as having "broken the law"​.

The Reddit thread referenced in his post was deleted shortly after his message to Huffman, though it reportedly contained a mix of comments, with some potentially threatening and others not.

The r/WhitePeopleTwitter subreddit was also temporarily suspended for three days. Reddit cited "violent content" as the reason, but did not clarify whether Musk's alleged private request was the deciding factor in its decision.

Musk has a documented history of opposing content restrictions. His 2022 acquisition of Twitter , now X, was largely driven by his opposition to bans on accounts he deemed unfairly silenced.

The reports were met with ridicule and frustration from Reddit users, many of whom branded Musk's attempt to suppress the conversation as hypocrisy, given Musk's previous commitment to free speech.

Viral posts in some of Reddit's largest communities addressed the report, with one post on r/Fauxmoi , which has almost 5 million members, receiving over 5 thousand upvotes.

Another post made it onto r/inthenews , a subreddit normally dedicated to discussing recent events.

"Oh my God, if we have to be controlled by oligarchs why do they have to be so f***ing cringe?" One user asked on the SubredditDrama community.

"Mr free speech himself that lets all sorts of toxic s**t all over Twitter has a problem with Reddit?? WTF is this manchild thinking? Get your own house in order before throwing stones at other people," Another top comment read.

Another post said : "The party of "free speech" only want free speech when it benefits them and doesn't question their authority or intelligence."

What People Are Saying

In a statement given to Newsweek, a spokesperson for Reddit said: "We take any report of Reddit policy violations seriously, whether on Reddit directly or through other public or private means. We will evaluate content reported to us and take action if it violates."

What Happens Next

Neither Musk nor Huffman have publicly commented in depth beyond the original reports. The r/WhitePeopleTwitter has since been made accessible again.

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