'I spent months trolling influencers in Reddit hate forums – now I feel ashamed'

Daily Mirror

a day ago

After Irish YouTuber Adam MacIntyre was reported to ICE by his snark subreddit while touring the US, Reddit shut them down. But his story is just the very tip of the iceberg.
Hiding in plain sight are some of Reddit's most toxic communities, created with one sole and explicit purpose: to spread hate. Known as 'snark', these forums range in size from hundreds to literally thousands of members, all anonymous, who congregate to make derogatory posts.
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The subjects in question? They range from minor influencers to full-blown pop stars, with some of the better-known names including TikTok beauty star Mikaela Noguiera, singer Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift.
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Currently, r/travisandtaylor, aka "The Snark Sub', is one of the largest, with over 158K members. Their raison d'etre, according to the description, is to 'roast and criticize Taylor Swift's PR stunts (looking at you, Travis), her questionable ethics, and the never-ending antics she wants fans to (literally) buy.'
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They even have an ominous warning in place for any stray Swifties: 'If you're here to defend Mother, you've come to the wrong place.'
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Some of the top-voted posts over the past month have run down her fashion, her choreography and, in particular, the star's relationship with Travis Kelce, which they commonly believe is a calculated PR move.
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And while some topics could be considered worthwhile discussions, like Taylor Swift's political stances, others are a little more petty. For example, a recent post shows a clip of Taylor Swift dancing with Travis at the US Open Final with a drink in her hand. Comments claim Taylor is "spiralling" or claim she's an "alcoholic", all of which she's never confirmed.
But who are the contributors? And why do they do it? A 'snarker', who wishes to remain anonymous, tells The Mirror that they have posted previously on the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce snark subreddit. They also used to visit another influencer's snark.
They first came across it about two years ago, but admit they've been reading more lately over the past six or seven months. 'I don't check it often,' they say. 'It just sometimes appears on my algorithm and I read it. Sometimes I even comment about it.'
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They tell us that they have posted once before but 'it wasn't a healthy move to do it', adding: 'I know everyone makes mistakes and the most we can do is learn from it. I know not everyone who does it has thought about how it can be truly damaging.'
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Although, there are some bad players who are aware of the impact of their actions. They say: 'I think that snark can do harm when it's intended to do so. Some people have their own pain and want these people to hurt themselves.'
A second former snarker, who has also remained anonymous, agrees that this behaviour often comes from a place of hurt. Now 29, they say they used to be an avid reader of a snark subreddit dedicated to YouTuber Trisha Paytas: the now-banned r/Trishyland.
The subreddit became known for coming up with wild conspiracies about the YouTuber and mother-of-two, who formerly co-starred on the 'Frenemies on the H3 Podcast' YouTube channel. A popular theory spread on the subreddit was that she was faking her pregnancy.
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'I would read it daily, sometimes multiple times a day,' the snarker says. 'Honestly, I had no real motivation. I started watching H3 when Frenemies was going on and the downfall of the show was obviously very interesting with lots of updates. From there it was interesting to keep up with negative updates about her.'
They fell further down the rabbit hole, explaining: 'I was really into hard drugs at the time and my life started falling apart and my interest was fizzling out. Then she had her first baby and I think that made me step away 100%. I honestly was on the 'she's faking her pregnancy' train but once I learned that wasn't the case, I couldn't 'enjoy' hating a mother.'
However, they share that they haven't fully lost the compulsion to check on hate-centric subreddits. 'Now the 'r/weddingshaming' subreddit comes across my Reddit home page fairly often and I read the posts when I see them."
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'Part of the appeal comes from reading a group consensus that someone is in the way it makes you feel like a morally superior person. One, because you're not doing the 'shameful' thing. Two, you are doing the work' of 'educating' yourself on what 'society' things is right/wrong.' Though, they add that it's difficult to fully explain the appeal of snark because 'snark is nonsensical'.
What happens when it goes too far?
Irish content creator Adam MacIntyre recently spoke out online about his experience with his own now-banned snark subreddit (r/AdamMacIntyreSnark) – after they reported him to ICE.
The incident happened after the Derry-born YouTuber began his Chronically Online Tour in the US. Prior to its beginning, he posted a picture of his O-1 visa to X, expressing his excitement.
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O-1 Visas are temporary work visas granted to those who have demonstrated extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or have a record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry.
However, in late June a member of r/AdamMcIntyreSnark reposted the image on the subreddit with the caption 'Someone Posted About Visas'. Users then appeared to misread the 'R' on the image as indicating an R-1 visa, which is intended for those conducting religious work.
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This led to accusations that he had received the visa fraudulently – with a commenter even sharing a screenshot of a report they had sent to ICE asking for Adam to be deported.
Adam came onto his YouTube channel to discuss the situation. He said: 'When it comes to snark I will usually put my hands up and allow people to do what they're doing, because I don't want to criticise how people talk about people – even if that person is me… But there's something truly disgusting about weaponising ICE against people.'
A statement was also released across Adam's social media channels on Monday July 7 explaining that he had 'initiated a formal legal investigation' in response to the activities related to the snark page.
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The subreddit has since been taken down. A Reddit spokesperson told The Mirror that harassment and bullying have no place on Reddit and that their rules explicitly prohibit this behaviour. This includes real-world harassment and actions that would threaten a person's safety.
They said that, from their investigation, it appears that the behavior was limited to one user account that has since been deleted. The spokesperson added that they will continue to monitor their platform for violating behavior and take action where appropriate.