Reddit intervened to prevent a “hostile takeover” of r / wallstreetbets from a group of moderators who were supposedly trying to profit from a movie contract.
Behind the scenes, a power struggle for control of r / wallstreebets broke out on Wednesday, when the forum’s older moderators removed more than a dozen new mods from their roles. The banned moderators then accused the old guard of selling out and conspiring to secure a lucrative deal on r / wallstreebet’s role in the meme stock madness. “They (the old mods) left for years and came back when they smelled money,” wrote “zjz”, a banned moderator.
In a now deleted post made on Thursday, one of the oldest moderators, “grebfar”, admitted that a film contract was in progress. “We were planning to wait to announce this, once we had everything lined up, but yes, we were approached by producers about a potential film and many of the other mods were part of those conversations,” wrote grebfar.
“What has not been shared, however, is that we plan to donate any product of this (if any!) To charity. To claim this as evidence that we are trying to ‘monetize the sub’ is extremely dishonest, ”added grebfar.
Credit: Reddit
Grebfar’s post went on to denounce banned moderators for spreading misinformation and fragmenting the community. However, Reddit himself took a stand against Grebfar and his teammates. On Thursday night, the three oldest moderators at r / wallstreetbets were removed from their privileges.
A spokesman for Reddit told us that the three oldest moderators violated the company’s guidelines for maintaining a healthy online community. Infringements include removing other mods without notice and failing to maintain a fully equipped moderation team for r / wallstreetbets that could regulate the community efficiently.
Reddit is now working with the remaining moderators on r / wallstreetbets to restore order. This includes restoring privileges for various mods that were initialized during the infighting.
“We are here for the community, not the other way around”, wrote the moderator “bawse1”, who had already been expelled from the forum. “Those who didn’t understand finally left. Those of us who remain are left to repair the tainted culture of the moderators of the past. “
Internal strife occurs as the meme-craze loses momentum. GameStop, the main stock that r / wallstreetbets was supporting, saw its share price drop from $ 325 to $ 72 in a week, causing heavy losses for the last stock sponsors.
However, bawse1 said that the mod team is focused on becoming “a cohesive unit in support of the largest community of traders, investors of all ages and experience.
“When we help each other, we support each other, we can all persevere in everything. That’s how we win. [sic] The winners emit an aura that fuels phenomenal growth in our community and also in our portfolios, ”added bawse1.