Reddit‘s automated moderation system is apparently flagging the word “Luigi” as potentially violent, The Verge reported.
On Friday, a post appeared on the r/FreeLuigi subreddit stating, “PSA: the word ‘luigi’ is now flagged by reddit for violence.” A screenshot of a comment about the video game Luigi’s Mansion 3 on the r/popculture subject shows a highlight of the word “Luigi” and a tag, “Check for Violence – [Luigi].”
r/FreeLuigi is a community dedicated to Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old suspect in the December 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Since Mangione’s arrest in December, he has received a flood of support online, both because of his status as a “folk hero” amid outrage at the U.S. healthcare system, and because of his physical attractiveness. His legal defense team recently created a website as supporters donate to his defense fund and follow his case. Mangione is currently being held in federal custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, according to the website.
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A Reddit spokesperson told The Verge that there isn’t a “sitewide filter for the word ‘Luigi’ or expectation that users stop talking about Luigi Mangione.” Despite this, however, the same user posted a second example of Reddit “flagging” Luigi, telling the user to check for violence.
Mashable has reached out to Reddit and will update this story if we hear back.