Reddit Bans 'Find Navy Yard Shooters' Subreddit

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By Fran Berkman2013-09-16 20:49:34 UTC

Perhaps Reddit has learned its lesson.

Hours after a subreddit cropped up, supposedly dedicated to identifying the gunmen who infiltrated the Washington Navy Yard and killed at least 12 people on Monday, was banned from the social news site. Reddit came under heavy criticism for its role in sparking a witch hunt during the Boston Marathon bombings in April.

See also: Credible Sources for Navy Yard Shooting News

We first spotted /r/findnavyyardshooters around 1:15 p.m. on Monday. By 3:15 p.m., it was banned.

Reddit user uglyredditors created the subreddit, which seemed to be little more than a trolling effort.

"We can do it, Reddit. Let's look for clues about who the perps are, and post them. Any thing goes but there's one rule: NO PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT LEADS UNLESS YOU'RE REALLY SURE," uglyredditors wrote in the description of a threat titled "Welcome to Find Navy Yard Shooters."

Reddit spokeswoman Victoria Taylor cited the thread's prompt to post personal information as a reason for the ban.

"We don't allow the posting of personal information under any circumstances," Taylor told Mashable in an email.

It doesn't seem the subreddit's creator was too upset about its removal.

"I started the [Find Navy Yard Shooters] subreddit as a reaction to and a parody of the FindBostonBombers subreddit," uglyredditors told Mashable in an emailed reply. "I'm glad Reddit and redditors seem to have learned a lesson."

Mirroring that sentiment, some of the comments on the thread conveyed contrition for the community's role in spreading misinformation about the Boston Bombings.

"So the lesson learned from Boston is that no lesson was learned. (facepalm)," wrote Reddit user Cut-OutWitch.

Around the time the thread sprung up, some reports cited up to three shooters in the incident. The Associated Press has since identified one suspected shooter, 34-year-old Aaron Alexis, who died during the attack. Authorities are still searching for another possible shooter.

At the time of writing, the Navy has confirmed the death of at least 12 victims — 13 including Alexis.

Image: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Topics: navy, reddit, Social Media, U.S., US & World