Changediscord

2019hashtag campaigndead

#ChangeDiscord is a hashtag protest campaign that erupted in early 2019 after Discord users accused the chat platform's moderators, several of whom identified as furries, of selectively enforcing rules against sexualized 'cub' artwork. The backlash pushed Discord to publicly overhaul its Terms of Service that February.

hashtag memesplatform censorship memesmoral panic memesfurry fandom memesprotest memes

Overview

#ChangeDiscord is a hashtag protest that spread across Twitter and YouTube in early 2019, targeting alleged bias and moderator misconduct on the Discord chat platform1. Users argued that certain administrators, several of whom openly identified as furries, were letting communities host sexually suggestive drawings of underage characters (known as 'cub' art) while banning other servers for lesser offenses3.

The controversy folded together three complaints: a leaked email from a Discord staffer named TinyFeex saying the site did not treat cub art as a violation of its minor-sexualization rules3, a wave of high-profile account bans that hit YouTube personalities and their audiences2, and the broader FBI scrutiny of Discord over child grooming and stolen-account trafficking that Forbes had already reported on1. The hashtag became the umbrella slogan tying those threads together.

How It Spread

On February 3, 2019, Twitter user @MrTempestilence posted a screenshot compilation about the Discord controversy with the caption 'Fellas, I'm going back to Skype,' collecting more than 8,100 likes and 2,700 retweets over the next five days3. The next day, freelance journalist Nick Monroe launched a Twitter thread on the same topic that drew roughly 8,100 likes and 4,200 retweets of its own3.

On February 5, 2019, Twitter user @BrintRevised uploaded a video that carried the first use of the #ChangeDiscord hashtag itself3. Two days later, Newsweek ran 'Discord Comes Under Fire for Alleged Moderator Abuse and Furry Corruption,' giving the campaign mainstream coverage, and YouTuber Stryxo dropped a companion video titled 'A Message to Discord…' tagged with the hashtag1.

Discord responded on February 13, 2019, publishing a company blog post and rolling out significant updates to its Terms of Service that explicitly addressed cub-play imagery1.

How to Use This Meme

People typically attached #ChangeDiscord to tweets, YouTube uploads, or screenshots calling out specific bans, staff behavior, or servers they felt Discord had mishandled. The common convention was pairing the hashtag with a receipt, either a screenshotted mod message, an email from staff, or a video breakdown of a banned account.

Frequently Asked Questions

Changediscord

2019hashtag campaigndead

#ChangeDiscord is a hashtag protest campaign that erupted in early 2019 after Discord users accused the chat platform's moderators, several of whom identified as furries, of selectively enforcing rules against sexualized 'cub' artwork. The backlash pushed Discord to publicly overhaul its Terms of Service that February.

hashtag memes platform censorship memes moral panic memes furry fandom memes protest memes

Overview

#ChangeDiscord is a hashtag protest that spread across Twitter and YouTube in early 2019, targeting alleged bias and moderator misconduct on the Discord chat platform1. Users argued that certain administrators, several of whom openly identified as furries, were letting communities host sexually suggestive drawings of underage characters (known as 'cub' art) while banning other servers for lesser offenses3.

The controversy folded together three complaints: a leaked email from a Discord staffer named TinyFeex saying the site did not treat cub art as a violation of its minor-sexualization rules3, a wave of high-profile account bans that hit YouTube personalities and their audiences2, and the broader FBI scrutiny of Discord over child grooming and stolen-account trafficking that Forbes had already reported on1. The hashtag became the umbrella slogan tying those threads together.

How It Spread

On February 3, 2019, Twitter user @MrTempestilence posted a screenshot compilation about the Discord controversy with the caption 'Fellas, I'm going back to Skype,' collecting more than 8,100 likes and 2,700 retweets over the next five days3. The next day, freelance journalist Nick Monroe launched a Twitter thread on the same topic that drew roughly 8,100 likes and 4,200 retweets of its own3.

On February 5, 2019, Twitter user @BrintRevised uploaded a video that carried the first use of the #ChangeDiscord hashtag itself3. Two days later, Newsweek ran 'Discord Comes Under Fire for Alleged Moderator Abuse and Furry Corruption,' giving the campaign mainstream coverage, and YouTuber Stryxo dropped a companion video titled 'A Message to Discord…' tagged with the hashtag1.

Discord responded on February 13, 2019, publishing a company blog post and rolling out significant updates to its Terms of Service that explicitly addressed cub-play imagery1.

How to Use This Meme

People typically attached #ChangeDiscord to tweets, YouTube uploads, or screenshots calling out specific bans, staff behavior, or servers they felt Discord had mishandled. The common convention was pairing the hashtag with a receipt, either a screenshotted mod message, an email from staff, or a video breakdown of a banned account.

Frequently Asked Questions