ICYMI

The Subreddits That Ruined the Internet

r/TumblrInAction and its brethren are the origins of lots of online harassment.

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Episode Notes

The subreddit r/TumblrInAction started out in the early 2010s as a place to mock the sorts of oversimplified social justice posts all over Tumblr, but it quickly became a breeding ground for online hate. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Allegra discuss their own history as Tumblr teens, the simplified and misguided ways Tumblr posts tried to share progressive ideology, and how the culture of one subset of Reddit forums that made fun of those posts eventually led to GamerGate and all sorts of online harassment tactics.

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John.

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About the Show

Join Rachelle Hampton twice a week as we gaze deep into the online abyss—and tell you what’s gazing back.

All episodes

Hosts

  • Allegra Frank is the deputy entertainment editor at the Daily Beast.

  • Rachelle Hampton is a culture writer and reporter at Slate and co-host of ICYMI. Her work has appeared in the New Republic, Pacific Standard, Smithsonian Magazine, and In These Times. She still hasn't recovered from Tumblr’s demise.