Reddit Cares Abuse

Content Warning: Portions of this article make mention of suicide, which some may find difficult or upsetting. If you need support or are dealing with suicidal thoughts, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline's website or call 1-800-273-8255.

Overview

Reddit Cares Abuse refers to a controversial practice among Redditors of reporting users they are in an argument with to Reddit's mental health safety service, "Reddit Cares," resulting in Reddit sending the reported user links to mental health hotlines and services (normally used for instances of potential self-harm). Since being noticed in early 2022, this trolling method has been interpreted as harassment akin to telling a Redditor they need mental health services or should harm themselves without directly using abusive language. The practice has become popularized and been discussed in communities with ardent fandoms, such as those for K-pop and basketball, and users have discussed how to report users who abuse the feature. In May 2024, users reported a significant uptick in reports across the site, leading to speculation that a bot was created to abuse the feature.

Background

On March 4th, 2020, Reddit announced that it would be instituting a mental health safety check for users to report when they fear a user is displaying signs of or expressing intent to self-harm,^[1] and it was implemented on March 10th. The system allows a user to flag a comment for signs of self-harm, leading Reddit to send that commenter a private message with links to mental health services, such as the Crisis Text Line (message shown below).

Reports of the system being abused in internet arguments began appearing roughly two years after it was implemented. On January 7th, 2022, Redditor MelissaWebb asked on the /r/kpophelp subreddit about why they kept seeing it mentioned in K-pop-related subs.^[2] User flawedconstellation explained:

ppl send the messages to others when they disagree with another person’s comments in the same way a Twitter fanwar would have someone dm you “go kys “. This is just an edgier way of saying that through faux concern and a snarky remark of “you need help for your messed up mindset”.

Developments

As the practice spread, users began to share ways to report those who abused the feature and prevent themselves from receiving messages from Reddit Cares. On March 29th, 2022, Redditor Strike_Gently, a mod of the wrestling-focused subreddit /r/SquaredCircle,^[3] posted that users could block the account that sends Reddit Cares messages to prevent themselves from receiving its automated message.

They also pointed out that the message has a link where users can report abuse. If a user reports abuse, Reddit should send an automated response that details who flagged the comment. This allows Redditors to report that account for abusing the Reddit Cares system (shown below).

The practice of Reddit Cares abuse saw a wave of discussion in May 2024, with questions about the practice appearing in multiple subreddits, including /r/reddithelp,^[4] /r/twoxchromosomes^[5] and /r/OutOfTheLoop,^[6] to name a few.

In the /r/OutOfTheLoop thread about the topic, users speculated that the abuse may be the work of a bot, noting that seemingly all users of certain popular subreddits such as /r/GME were receiving the DM almost instantly after posting comments. Other users reported getting hit with it instantly after posting apolitical comments on apolitical topics. One user reported, "I just got one instantly after posting a comment about how cute thresher sharks are lmao. So seems to just be a weird bot wave."

Search Interest

External References