The Reddit page r/JoeRogan is devoted to discussing The Joe Rogan Experience, the most popular podcast in the world. But moderators for the subreddit have decided to ban posts about politics in a highly confusing decision. And some contributors to the subreddit are not happy about it all.
It all started on Tuesday, when a moderator for r/JoeRogan wrote that “all political posts are now banned on r/JoeRogan.”
“Today we are making the decision to ban all political posts indefinitely,” the explanation read. “After careful consideration, internal discussion and tons of external feedback we have collectively decided that r/joerogan is not the place for politics anymore.”
That post was not received well. One contributor wrote, “Every reddit mod is a hall monitor dork, change my mind. Youre banning the topic he talks about the most. You guys are hypocrites and anti free speech. If you cant mod effectively then go paint your warhammer figurines and let someone else do it.”
Another commenter wrote, “Will you ban Joe Rogan from talking about politics then?” while someone else wrote, “This subreddit has been circling the drain for so long, and thank god you finally flushed the handle!”
The main post was eventually deleted, but replaced with an explanation that was more specific about what wouldn’t be allowed. People could comment on politics below a post, but anything political would still be banned as the topic for a main post. The moderator explained that it was getting too hard to moderate the subreddit.
“It is not lost on us that Joe has become increasingly political in recent years and that his endorsement of Trump may have helped get him elected,” the moderator wrote. “That said, we are not equipped to properly moderate, arbitrate and curate political posts…while also promoting free speech. I get how contradictory that reads but reddit has rules that they want enforced and unless we add 20 more mods, we are unable to do it well. I don’t think anyone here wants more moderation and a heavy-handed approach to what political posts stay and what go.”
The moderator said they would be posting one thread per day that allows a broader scope of topics, including politics, though it’s going to be “very lightly moderated.” The comments for that post have been locked.
What does the r/JoeRogan page look like now? There are plenty of older politically-focused posts still prominent, but they’re from days ago, including one about President Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen and another about the Epstein files.
But posts published after the politics ban are much more generic. They include the entire YouTube episode for Rogan’s latest, an interview with comedian Adam Ray. The post simply reads “Joe Rogan Experience #2415 – Adam Ray” with nothing more. A quick search of an automated transcript from the episode reveals six mentions of the word Trump and eight mentions of Biden.
Another post on r/JoeRogan right now reads “Current state of r/joerogan” and includes a clip from the Simpsons TV show where Ralph tries to make small talk with Lisa by asking, “So, do you like stuff?”
The Simpsons clip gets to the heart of the politics ban on r/JoeRogan. The podcaster is an inherently political guy, and most of what he talks about is in some way political. One pre-ban thread discusses Rogan’s silence on the recent legislation that will ban CBD-infused drinks. Legislation is inherently political. Would this one slip by in the current no-politics environment? That part is unclear.
Rogan has become one of the most important political influencers in popular media. Trump went on his podcast in the lead-up to the 2024 election, and Kamala Harris recently said she regrets not appearing on his show. It’s bizarre to imagine discussing Rogan, a man who frequently celebrates Trump and his policies, without getting into politics.
Obviously, it remains to be seen whether the folks at r/JoeRogan will stick with their politics ban. But if Rogan keeps being Rogan, the subreddit is going to be a pretty quiet place.
