Instant messaging and digital distribution platform Discord has confirmed that it has banned the server for r/WallStreetBets, a Reddit thread responsible for blowing up GameStop's stocks over the last few days.
Discord Bans Popular Server
According to The Verge, the platform says they did not ban the server for financial fraud, something most people would assume given its role in the current stock market.
But instead, Discord said they banned the server as it continued to allow "hateful and discriminatory content after repeated warnings," and after gaining access to the server, the online news outlet did confirm that it was filled with hateful content, including the use of racial slurs.
"The server has been on our Trust & Safety team's radar for some time due to occasional content that violates our Community Guidelines, including hate speech, glorifying violence, and spreading misinformation. Over the past few months, we have issued multiple warnings to the server admin," the Discord team said.
The server and its owner are now banned from the platform.
They further clarified that it had nothing to do with the connection of the server to GameStop or other stocks, and even said that they welcome personal finance discussions of many sorts such as professional financial advisors or investment clubs.
Nevertheless, they are monitoring the situation and if there are any reports of illegal activities, they are willing to work with the authorities.
Wallstreetbets Moderators Turned the Thread Private
After banning the server, the entire subreddit for r/WallStreetBets was made private by the moderators, which lasted for an hour.
When it came back, the team behind the thread had decided to respond to the Discord ban, saying that they have blocked all the bad words through the help of a bot and that it "should be enough," with the team expressing their disappointment at Discord who "did us dirty" and said the ban was "pretty unethical."
Despite the ban of the original server, it now seems that the subreddit has linked to what seems like its new official server.
To show how chaotic the server was, some users were able to record brief snippets of the server's audio chat and uploaded them on their social media accounts.
GameStop and AMC Stocks Rally
Reddit was also asked for a comment surrounding the whole issue between the server and Discord, but they refrained from doing so, although it appears "Reddit admins" were not involved in any way in the decision of making the subreddit private, as per Ars Technica.
Moreover, moderators of the Reddit thread also warned their followers of a fake Twitter account with the handler "wallstreetbets," who is claiming to be speaking for the popular subreddit, which now has 3.6 million members.
Besides GameStop, the Reddit group rallied behind other struggling companies, including BlackBerry, Macy's, and AMC.
Through the group, GameStop's stocks were able to reach more than 1700% since January started, while trading platforms such as Robinhood have restricted trades on both GameStop and AMC.
As of now, the White House and the Securities and Exchange Commissions (SEC) are monitoring the situation, according to CNN.
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Written by: Nhx Tingson
