Moderators on the r/sanantonio Reddit page a considering blocking content from a local TV station. Credit: Unsplash / Brett Jordan

After blocking content from the San Antonio Current last year, the moderators of the r/sanantonio Reddit page are moving to prevent users from posting content from another news outlet.

Last week, the page’s moderators shared a poll asking users whether they should block articles from News 4 SA because the TV station is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, a Maryland-based multimedia conglomerate that’s faced criticism for its right-wing bias.

Sinclair last year drew the ire of free speech watchdogs after it agreed to preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live across 38 of its stations following pressure from Trump FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. The media group said it did so out of respect for the family of right-wing provocateur Charlie Kirk. Kimmel’s monologue included comments about Kirk.

Sinclair has also been accused of spreading misinformation to promote right-wing talking points, The Guardian reports.

Even so, some on the r/sanantonio Reddit page said they’ve had enough of what they characterize as censorship, pointing to the moderators’ earlier decision to block content from the independent and locally owned Current for its reporting on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The moderators of the r/sanantonio page declined to answer the Current’s questions about the possible ban on News 4 SA’s content.

“I thought we defeated the Nazis,” user @SA_Steed said of the proposed ban on the TV station’s articles.

Reddit user @SetoKeating also disagreed with the move while noting that they don’t personally agree with News 4 SA’s reporting.

“I’m very politically liberal, and I think banning [News 4 SA] would be a terrible idea,” they wrote. “The last thing we need is the San Antonio subreddit turning into an echo chamber where people never see any contrasting viewpoints to the majority-held opinion.”

However, the controversy over the r/sanantonio page and its moderators has now jumped to TikTok, with user @amanduhmoreno calling for a new San Antonio Reddit thread with new moderators.

“Y’all fucking suck, you’re horrible at your job,” she said of the current moderators. “I have my own biases towards [News 4 SA], but I think it’s a very slippery slope to be able to censor what type of media people are talking about and ingesting.”

Reddit users have four days left to vote on whether to ban News 4 SA articles from the thread.

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Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...