Reddit: Naming White House Whistleblower Is Fine

Popular online message board Reddit, known for its free-wheeling postings, is allowing users to name government whistleblowers on its service.

That reality was highlighted this week when the site let users post the identity of the White House whistleblower who spawned an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump over his dealings with Ukraine.

Reddit approach is in stark contrast to Facebook, Google, and YouTube, which all have said they would remove any mention of the person’s name from their websites. Many traditional publishers, including Fortune, have also decided against identifying the whistleblower.

Their rationale is that naming whistleblowers may put their lives and jobs at risk, in addition to dissuading future ones from coming forward.

Federal law prohibits government agencies from revealing the names of whistleblowers, but it’s not a crime for average people to do so.

Aside from Reddit, the only other major U.S. website that has decided against filtering the whistleblower’s identify is Twitter.

In some cases, Twitter says it’s acceptable, such as when U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop, a Republican from North Carolina, tweeted it out.

Reddit has a long history as a bastion of profane content and harassment. The site’s forums were at the center of the 2014 Gamergate controversy that perpetuated harassment against female video game developers, journalists, and players.

Some Reddit users also fueled the discredited Pizzagate conspiracy theory during the 2016 election that suggested Democratic Party and elected officials were involved in a human trafficking ring.

In a statement to Fortune, a Reddit spokesperson said that the website “encourages an open discussion regarding issues of public and political relevance.” But she cautioned that “personal information or the encouragement of harassment or vigilantism,” violates its policy.

Reddit declined to say why it doesn’t have a whistleblower policy.

In some cases, like when users posted the whistleblower’s name along with language that could incite harassment, Reddit deleted it. But in other cases in which there was no rule broken, Reddit left the posts up.

In general, Reddit has called on its volunteer moderators to remove objectionable content. In some cases, when forums violate its policies, Reddit quarantines them, or brands them with a warning that requires users to opt in to view what’s posted there.

Read more: https://fortune.com/2019/11/15/reddit-white-house-whistleblower/