Unfortunately, you have also made it far more censored. Still no apology from the OTW regarding the censorship of pro-palestine views. The whole news moderation team thing was created to ensure that views that look at the OTW and AO3 critically are frozen, or worse yet, never even posted in the first place. Transparency needs improved. Inclusion needs improved. Things are not done.
Thank you for sharing your concerns with us. The Board of Directors want to emphatically assure you that no volunteer ever has been or ever will be removed from the Organization for Transformative Works for openly sharing their political beliefs. Nor would we ever censor any volunteer for expressing political opinions, including but not limited to the current Israel & Palestine conflict.
We do reserve the right to ask our volunteers to not harass or intimidate fellow volunteers, regardless of how strong their convictions are. We’re fully aware of how challenging it is to strike the balance between being an inclusive organization – allowing the OTW to hear minority voices and viewpoints – and preserving the safety and well-being of our volunteers. In particular, the OTW reserves the right to determine that certain topics are not appropriate for our work environment.
As the OTW is a multicultural, international collaboration of volunteers with the mission of serving fandom as a whole, it will never force its members, its volunteers or the general public to hold to any specific opinion or viewpoint. Likewise, the OTW will not endorse any political views nor censor any volunteer due to their political beliefs.
The news post moderation team was formed to ensure our comments sections remain a welcoming and on-topic place. Prior to the formation of our team, regular AO3 users had been harassed in the news post comments by other AO3 users on several occasions. Allowing such behavior on our news posts isn't acceptable and it required a comprehensive solution.
As demonstrated by the many comments that can be seen throughout the comments sections of various news posts, criticism of the OTW is allowed. However, as the OTW News Post Moderation Policy states, we will screen off-topic comments as well as misinformation about the OTW. If you have any questions about that policy, or if there is a specific decision we have made that you would like to appeal, you can reach out to our team directly via our contact form.
Comment on Update on Our 2020 Commitment from the OTW Board, Chairs & Leads
axiun Sat 27 Dec 2025 09:45AM UTC
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OTW_News_Post_Moderation (Official) Fri 02 Jan 2026 07:52AM UTC
Last Edited Fri 02 Jan 2026 07:52AM UTC
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axiun Fri 02 Jan 2026 09:08AM UTC
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