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Abstract
Deplatforming, the permanent banning of entire communities, is a common tool for content moderation on mainstream platforms. Prior research largely examines banned communities and source-platform health, leaving receiving platforms less understood. We analyze four major Reddit community bans from 2015 to 2020 and their relationship to six generalist communities on Voat, asking how users appearing on Voat after these bans are associated with community structure and toxicity. Combining network analysis, ToxiGen classifier probabilities, and dynamic reputation modeling, we document distinct trajectories in cohort mixing, structural representation, toxicity, and repeated participation across Voat’s generalist communities. Breakpoint analyses provide the clearest evidence around the GreatAwakening period in the E-I index, while mean ToxiGen classifier probability rose from approximately 0.12 in late 2015 to above 0.24 by mid-2018 and then remained elevated. Fixed-cohort results show that high-activity arrivals were more likely than average arrivals to become structurally central, and survival analyses indicate longer persistence among high early-toxicity users in earlier post-ban cohorts. These findings identify receiving-platform changes that coincided with source-platform moderation.
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Acknowledgements
This research was financially supported by the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia, 7416, Topology-derived methods for the analysis of collective trust dynamics (CTRUST). Data processing and analysis were performed on the PARADOX-IV supercomputing facility at the Scientific Computing Laboratory, National Center of Excellence for the Study of Complex Systems, Institute of Physics Belgrade. We thank the editor and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback.
Funding
This research was financially supported by the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia, Prizma program (grant No. 7416).
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The authors declare no competing interests.
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This study analyzes publicly available user-generated content collected in the MADOC dataset and does not involve interaction with users, interventions, or access to private information. The data are de-identified by the dataset providers, and we report results only in aggregate. We did not attempt to re-identify individuals, and no personally identifying information is presented. Under these conditions, the research is exempt from human-subjects review.
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Generative AI tools were used for table generation, text editing, and LaTeX formatting. The authors reviewed and approved all claims, analyses, and final wording.
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Tomašević, A., Vranić, A., Alorić, A. et al. Reddit deplatforming and cohort mixing in generalist Voat communities. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-63627-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-63627-4