50501

Looks like 50501 has been infiltrated by the opposition. I don't know what's true here, but it sounds like some fuckery.

Originally Posted By u/lokey_convo At 2025-04-24 09:22:24 PM | Source

I’ve decided I’m gonna protest at a major intersection in my city tomorrow, any advice or sign ideas would be appreciated!

I’m nervous but excited 🇺🇸

Originally Posted By u/Stonner22 At 2025-04-24 10:36:44 PM | Source

A few mods got kicked off, and its locked. Whats happening?

Originally Posted By u/itsokbirdie At 2025-04-24 11:48:12 PM | Source

Originally Posted By u/Ayla_Leren At 2025-04-25 02:40:16 AM | Source

This is probably something a lot of people are going to be asking for, so I just want to give a quick summary of what I could gather based on all the posts. Feel free to correct me if something seems incorrect. I have no insider knowledge, and this is all stuff I found online.

u/Evolved_Fungi, the original creator of the r/50501 subreddit took some actions without consulting the rest of the national group to take control of a legal entity that was created by some external group. This soured his relation with the other mods, particularly since this was supposed to be a decentralized movement and, especially without consultation, starting to do that without consultation wasn't a great look.

Then, after some of the fallout of the first subreddit lock, he posted a long summary of what happened from his perspective that included some unnecessary NSFW details. This post is now deleted, but if you are curious, there are sites that can retrieve deleted posts by users(I'll refrain from listing them here).

After that post was deleted, some stuff happened behind the scenes(which I don't know of; I'm only going off of public information), and u/Evolved_Fungi stepped down as the top moderator.

However, people who seemed to be u/Evolved_Fungi's friends were still in control of the subreddit. u/greenasacube and u/50501California were removed as mods some number of times by the current moderators of the r/50501 subreddit. Then, a statement was put out by I believe u/50501California which gave a statement on the situation, explaining that u/Evolved_Fungi stepped down, and that the subreddit would be continuing.

The current top mods(who are friends of u/Evolved_Fungi) then proceeded to remove those posts, and then remove the other moderators. Presumably there is some internal stuff going in the background that is not public, but regardless, the end result after some readding and removal of the mods was the posts you see now on the r/50501 subreddit, with u/Evolved_Fungi's friends being the only moderators as far as I can tell.

To give some of my own commentary, this to me looks like a guy started a huge movement, got in way over his head, made some mistakes that he got push-back on, and then got extremely stressed due to all of that. Perhaps that's not true, and, as he claims, he truly was just bullied out of the movement, but personally, I don't see a great reason to trust that as it seems a lot less likely than the movement just growing way too fast beyond him. It is entirely possible that everyone has acted reasonably in this situation, and the stress just got to him way too much. I hope he and his friends end up ok, but to everyone reading this, at the end of the day, this movement has too much momentum to slow down with a simple reddit mod controversy.

I know some of us are chronically online, and this feels big and disastrous, but, really, it's only big an disastrous if we make it to be that way. The movement is much bigger than any subreddit, and we have a lot of work to do.

Originally Posted By u/purewaterruler At 2025-04-25 12:13:06 AM | Source

Reading through the accounts of what happened from both sides, I have no idea what to believe. Ultimately, what matters is that all of us continue to do what we have been doing--showing up to the protests and doing everything we can to fight the wave of fascism that is engulfing our country.

I'm not going to let this speedbump turn into a road block. The power of this movement comes from the bottom up, not the top down.

Originally Posted By u/pleasureismylife At 2025-04-25 02:39:20 AM | Source

I think people who were involved with moderation of the sub or who were well connected in the movement need to come forward and provide transparency as to what exactly went down - with receipts.

In the meantime, keep campaigning and organising as usual, perhaps it is better if the movement continues in a more decentralised way anyway.

Originally Posted By u/FourCardStraight At 2025-04-25 01:46:23 AM | Source

Would you stand there and watch it happen? Would you pull out your phone and post video of it? Would you stand there and jeer? Would you try to physically make the arrest more difficult? Would you try to prevent the agents from illegally absconding with a human being until they prove they have all needed legal authority (warrants, cause, proper occasion, proper arrest methods, etc.) to detain the individual? Would you do everything in your power to save this person?

Think about what level of action you are comfortable with and how you want to remember yourself in the event this happens.

Originally Posted By u/Lower-Insect-3984 At 2025-04-24 11:38:59 AM | Source

I don't mean this post to shit on anyone who has devoted a significant amount of time to organizing, but I do not feel comfortable blindly trusting you given that the situation is so confusing.

I do not know any of these people IRL. The only evidence I have for EF being problematic in any way is his erratic behavior of pausing the subreddit, which by itself can be attributed to making an impulsive move while panicking. EF has also been accused of lewd behavior but again, since I have no evidence of this, I am not going to believe it because frankly, if I were a Russian troll it's obvious that one of the easiest ways to discredit a man in a leftist movement is through accusing him of a sexual violation.

I have personally witnessed a rising organizer friend be slapped with a felony by the FBI even though he did not commit any crime so I am NOT going to just accept hear-say, especially when the stakes are so high.

I am already seeing a lot of comments accepting and promoting the mental breakdown or sexual violation explanations, or comments suggesting EF is spreading conspiracies or even accusing him of being on drugs. The speed at which this is moving without any room for processing or detailed, soberly-presented explanations makes alarm bells ring in my head. At worst, this is an actual plot to weaken the movement. At best, it is clear evidence of leadership that is not equipped to handle serious problems.

Moderators posting snide comments that are clearly driven by stress/strong emotions is also a yellow flag for me (see the parent of this comment).

It is entirely possible that EF is having an actual mental break, that he did commit a sexual violation, or god knows what else, but without evidence I am not going to follow a bunch of new internet strangers. It does not align with my values for how I want a movement to be led or how I want people within the movement to be treated.

In order for me to feel good about aligning myself with the new subreddit, I would need from the mods concrete evidence of EF's transgressions as well as a commitment from ALL of the new mod team members that they are not going to demonize EF, including shutting down comments that speculate about substance abuse, a mental break, etc. If EF did cause harm to any of the moderators, please clearly explain that. Please note that I am asking for this NOT because I want anyone to relive a hurtful experience but because the stakes are high, I have no idea who you are, and unfounded accusations have been used time and time again by the government and other bad actors to undermine social movements.

Thanks for reading.

Originally Posted By u/dayvancowgirl At 2025-04-25 01:31:43 AM | Source

Thursday May 1st 5 pm 200 N Washington Ave Courthouse Square. Scranton

Originally Posted By u/Head_Appearance_522 At 2025-04-25 07:54:08 AM | Source

Every single post reads like it was written by a high schooler. Even though the movement is "decentralized," as moderators, you clearly have more power than regular users and should therefore hold each other to higher standards. If you guys don't know how to deescalate and resolve problems, step down. The movement is too important to be held back by this. This issue could've been publicly addressed in a general discord chat or something similar—not through a pinned post on the main subreddit. Now that the damage is done, with numerous posts spreading conflicting information, share the receipts and evidence. Instead of pausing the sub and removing mods, let the community decide for themselves which group of mods they want to support / stick with.

If it were truly decentralized, this repeated pausing shouldn’t have happened in the first place. If you guys want it to be treated that way, keep things open and as transparent as possible.

Originally Posted By u/InitiativePure787 At 2025-04-25 02:11:03 AM | Source

Just a reminder: this is a decentralized movement. No one person or group controls it. For me, the mission of 50501 is best summed up by the official website: “Join us in the fight to uphold the Constitution and end executive overreach.” That’s what I’m here for.

The site’s also been really helpful for finding local protests and events. Reddit is a great tool for discussion, but it’s not the whole movement. If this space isn’t working for you—or if the way it’s being run doesn’t line up with your values—there are other ways to stay connected and involved.

I get the frustration around the recent drama. But with any big, decentralized movement, conflict is going to happen. Let’s not lose sight of the real goal: standing up for the Constitution and pushing back on executive overreach.

Get involved with your local or state 50501 groups. Make direct connections where you can. And check out other platforms like Discord, Lemmy, Bluesky, or even Facebook. The more ways we stay in touch, the harder we are to disrupt.

Stay focused. Stay resilient. We’re making a difference!

Originally Posted By u/VinctusVentis At 2025-04-25 08:27:19 AM | Source

Originally Posted By u/NH_50501 At 2025-04-25 06:14:21 AM | Source

Tesla Takedown hosted a call tonight to kickoff their “divest public funds from Tesla” initiative! Tesla Takedown is looking for any volunteers interested in hosting/organizing or participating in calls for divestment. Divestment resources, including an organizing toolkit, step-by-step guidelines, templates and tips can be found here. Also, please sign up here to host or support an action in your city! Tesla Takedown is providing both group and individual mentoring for individuals who want to step up so PLEASE sign up if you have any interest! 💜

Originally Posted By u/NJ50501_Outreach At 2025-04-24 10:22:47 PM | Source

The following post EMERGENT is being posted over and over again in r/50501. I have nothing to do with any of the organizing formally, informally, or otherwise and have no idea what's going on other than the information that is being publicly shared.

I did want to take a moment to explain briefly why non-profits, trademarks, and PACs are important though. Non-profits as both 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) provide a formal legal entity that can hold assets (like money) and conduct activity (like pay for materials or pay for legal services). 501(c)(3)s are one of the ways we organize. It's also important to remember that 501(c)(3)s are actually prohibited from being political. 501(c)(4)s are similar to 501(c)(3)s, but donations to them can not be tax deductible, however they are allowed to engage in political activities, like writing legislative proposals and lobbying elected representatives to effect change. And if you want to take in funds to run a campaign to elect certain people to office that is where a PAC would come in to play.

These are formal organizing tools that have been used in social movements consistently going all the way back to the civil rights movement. They are not bad or a determent to organizing. They are how people organize formally. It is also worth remembering that Labor Unions are a type of non-profit, as are Churches. They are a vehicle with a purpose and anyone can form one, they just have legally prescribed purposes and bounds for how they can act.

But then could just anyone form a non-profit and call themselves the same thing to confuse people and potentially tarnish the work you're doing? Maybe.. The way you legally protect your brand and your logos and keep them from being used in an unintended way is through trademark. If you have an image or insignia that is ubiquitous with your organization then you want to trademark it so that someone else doesn't use it for unauthorized purposes (like a false flag violent action).

None of these things are harmful and are tools to facilitate openness and accessibility and movement building if governed in that fashion. An example everyone should be familiar with is Open Source License, which is how and why "freeware" is free and available to distribute and change. It is licensed for that purpose and protects from someone stealing it to license for-profit.

These are tools for organizing in the light and out of the shadows. It should be transparent who is running these, who owns the trademarks (which can be found through the trademark office), and how they are being run. Bylaws for non-profits should be available for inspection as should financial records. And the bylaws would dictate how people are elected or appointed to run these organizations.

Given the times the people who are taking charge of this are taking on serious risk because this is organizing in the light. People associated with these are volunteering to become targets. I don't know the background as to how things were formed or what level of coordination occurred. But just keep in mind that those involved with these are known, they can not be anonymous. For those that organize in the shadows or on twilight's edge, these structures are not the enemy, they are a different parallel method. As long as everyone is fighting for the same goal we should all have solidarity.

Originally Posted By u/lokey_convo At 2025-04-24 11:38:15 PM | Source



Originally Posted By u/youarebugs At 2025-04-24 11:35:28 PM | Source

Originally Posted By u/itsokbirdie At 2025-04-24 11:22:43 PM | Source

Copy and pasted

EMERGENT

Movement Brainstorm

NOTE TO THE WORLD

Hello everyone this is my final address to the community as the original creator. First, my role as the top moderator position here on Reddit has always been as an overseer of the movement to make sure it stays true to its roots.

This last month, a group I was unaware of created a 50501 non-profit, and registered trademarks for the 50501 name and its derivatives. They sent me a letter of intention regarding their, well, intentions, and it included a position that they would hand over everything to the "original founder of the 50501 movement" if I so requested. They weren't doing this to steal 50501, but to protect it. They seemed to have intentions that aligned with the values of 50501. To keep it decentralized, to provide legal protections for volunteers, and to provide financial transparency and oversight for any donations/fundraising for 50501.

After the call with the trademark group, I talked with the leaders of the 50501 national group (PAC and NP primarily) about what the Trademark group has proposed - and the legal filings that were already put into place. Just the mention of this concept had responses from people in the leadership roles (NPs and or PACs specifically), would quit the movement, and I was told that most of the movement would quit as well without even first deciding what the non profit status/board would or could look like.

This was a response that seemed emotionally charged and manipulative. Add to it that these NP and PAC individuals have been actively fundraising and or accepting donations in the $10000 range on behalf of 50501 through the PACs and NPs without transparency with the original 50501 community. The legal groundwork of which was withheld from my knowledge.

In continuation of my concerns I discovered that the Facebook page I first created 10 years ago when I first had the 50501 idea had an ownership change that put the page into the ownership of a PAC’s business page and another “shadow” 50501 business page that seemed to only be used for ownership of the 50501 Facebook Page. Something that myself and others as admins can't remove.

Soon after It came to my attention that I'd been doxx'd. Not my worst fear ever. But a stressful one nonetheless. So I informed them, still being completely open and honest with everyone. And again, I was told I'd be safer if I walked away. None of which made sense, as none of the other leaders of sorts in the movement who have been doxx'd stepped away or left the movement.

From my vantage point, this started to look like 50501 was slowly and methodically going to be taken over, or co-opted, by a PAC as well as a non profit with 501(c)3 and 501(c)4 statuses. And also from my vantage point I was the only one keeping that from happening.

So that brings us to yesterday, Tuesday, April 22. Through my own circle of council, and lots of consideration, I decided that a new non profit incorporation that could protect the organizers and participants of these events as well as providing a open, transparent support structure for handling donation would be the best thing for 50501 at this time. It doesn't mean ANYTHING needs to change - it just means that the movement would have oversight, and legal protections.

This started the discussions in earnest with the Trademark group, and at 530pm yesterday they began discussing this with the PAC/Non Profit leader(s) of 50501 (I'm not certain who all, I just know for sure a PAC person was on the call.) Attempts at conflict resolution were met with attacks on my character, invasion of privacy in my personal life, and eventually my removal from the national organization discussion. What followed was my decision to pause the reddit and regroup.

The pause was only intended to last until the systems being put into place could be implemented. Was it wrong if me to unilaterally make this decision? I don't know. But I do know that there is not a system in place for us to currently have a democratic vote that isn't biased by individuals with conflicts of interest from NPs and PACs, and their associates.

Later that evening, the Trademark group called, and said that they've had to release the …. apologies - I'm not sure if it's both Trademarks, and the non profit, or just one or the other. But it sounded like defeat, and there wasn't a precisely clear reason given. I can only assume it is a matter of time until I no longer have a voice here on 50501.

The list goes on and on about what has transpired behind the scenes, but the point that “national” has made is clear: Get out of our way, or we will MAKE you.

And after lots of very fearful discussion, we realized something that we think is important - this is bigger than r/50501. This is bigger than Reddit. This is bigger than any single one of us, and NO ONE is ever going to be able to control this one massive, transformative, and revolutionary movement. We are ALL 50501, and we will not be silenced.

I advise that future protest demand MUCH MORE TRANSPARENCY from the PACs and non profits, and I feel like everyone connected to either a PAC or Non Profit should be welcome to help, but should not be accepting money, or voting on the direction of the movement, or having admin control of pages or social medias related. They should have a seat at the table, but in advisory roles, not in controlling the movement.

Comment

NoOneEveryOne678

And now they're using slander to try to paint him in a bad way because they got caught and need to discredit him.

I'm the co founder. I bet most of you didn't even know who I was, my real name.....because I didn't seek any sort of spotlight. Was it cool that Dan from Dropkick Murphys shouted me out? Absolutely! Who wouldn't think that was cool.

We started this movement so that people could have their power back. Have some hope and create community.

These people at the top have used social engineering, gaslighting, manipulation and pushy tactics (like adding their business profile to the Facebook fungi owns without telling anyone, which means they owned it now..... how is that transparency??) There's so much bullying, secrecy, corruption and power grabs that it's actually disgusting.

I made the decision to walk away yesterday because the smear campaign that they started.

I have NEVER encountered such vile, hive mind behavior as what I've seen in their national circle. It was like nothing I've ever seen before. I have never met someone as narcissistic and vengeful as the two at the top.

No one questioned them, and if they did, they got booted. They demand Absolute loyalty to them.

If i wanted power, I could've had it. At any time. Fungi as well. That was NEVER the point. That is the narrative they are creating because they were terrified of losing their perceived power and influence and money apparently. It is 100% projection.

I'm a normal person, not affiliated with any politics or PACs.... I'm not an elected official like SHE WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED because she said if I don't remove her name, she will doxx me.
So that's cool.

I believe in 50501 and I believe that people have the power to fight injustice and come together as a community to make something beautiful and to protect each other.

But I REFUSE to be part of a mean girl's club. The way they bully people is so disheartening.
People will start coming forward with their own experiences im sure.

Keep fighting the good fight. 🩵🙏 You don't really need national. You have the people in your community. I believe in all of you.

Oh and I'm still walking bc they've really given me no choice and I value my mental wellness and safety.
I'll keep doing the good work on the ground, in my community where it makes a difference.
I want no part of this national and their bullying and politics and mean energy.

greenascanbeMOD

The Doctor

without consultation closed the community - creating a national legal entity and inappropriate actions during a video call I'm not going to detail here

NoOneEveryOne678

No. This is false. Y'all are wrong for this. Y'all kicked him out. This is defamation as well.

[deleted]

MOD

Comment removed by moderator

NoOneEveryOne678

No one said it was except POLREV but sure. My lawyer said i can't talk to you people.

greenascanbeThe Doctor

maybe this isn't the place to discuss your legal issues

Evolved_Fungi

I have no idea what's real right now.

Call to Action

Another post was made, which is an accurate editing of my own messages - and one that I approved before it was posted.

There has been an incredible amount of stress running this subreddit since the very beginning. But the last 96 hours or so have been the most intense I've ever experienced. I've recently asked to be added back as a moderator, and let everyone else go and I'll take whatever consequences may happen.. But that isn't an option that others are ok with at this point.

The threats seem real. It's impossible to know who to trust or what's true.

But even people who do know what's actually true have distorted it, and they let things they know aren't true be spread because it serves their purposes.

It's all insane.

We have already accomplished amazing things! Unbelievable things!

People have connections to other local people they never had before! THAT NETWORKING IS WHAT 50501 IS ABOUT!!!

YOU ARE WHAT 50501 IS ABOUT!

All of this is out of my hands. I have tried desperately to stop it from happening. I have offered up my own safety to keep this subreddit thriving... But even without that, my safety may still be at risk regardless.

I went into this with the absolute best intentions. My only mistakes have been trusting people I thought were safe, and trying to explain things that weren't issues in ways that made people think they were issues. And the people in positions who could have changed that perception, loved the misperceptions because it served their purposes.

I'm sorry everyone. So so sorry.

50501California

MOD

Preserving The People’s Power & Moving Forward

Over the last several days, we were made aware of actions taken by the Original 50501 Reddit Poster that crossed several lines and went against everything this movement has built. A difficult decision had to be made to protect the movement. As of today, the 50501 movement has officially parted ways with this OP. The power is now in the people’s hands, where it always belonged.

Movements are not forged through paperwork, trademarks, or unilateral decisions. They are built on relationships, shared purpose, and the collective power of principled, fearless organizing.

This movement cannot, and will not, be owned or controlled by anyone. It lives in each and every one of us. Every single person who peacefully takes to the streets, who stands against oppression, who lifts their voice against fascism, is 50501.

Now, the moment is yours. Whether on the streets, in your communities, or online, your actions shape our path forward. Stand tall. Lift one another. Let solidarity be the fire that fuels our struggle.

We will not back down. We will continue the fight to end executive overreach. And we will stop the authoritarian in the White House from shredding the Constitution—the very fabric of our nation, the foundation of everything we stand for. Together, we will take back our country and build a brighter future for everyone.

Originally Posted By u/Fukushimafan At 2025-04-25 12:03:36 AM | Source

**my other post was just removed. censoring isn’t good for the movement either.

So EVERYONE can see what was said directly by fungi himself.

“I was laying in bed, I don't remember if I was even clothed or not. We were in bed, at night. She said my hand was on my genitals. That's it. But that made her uncomfortable - and she wanted to talk about it - my mistake at that point was talking about the wrong phone call, when I knew for sure I was just playing with my pants because my hands are always fidgeting.

I even remember her saying at the beginning that it might not even be anything but she wanted to talk about it.

I've realized from that (and I have done this in the past as well) that I can get fixated on the wrong thing and the conversation becomes about the wrong thing at that point. Rather than discussing the actual thing that she wanted to discuss.

Even here, for all I know I was just scratching myself. I have no idea. We never got to that. But now I'm a predator? Really? No... I'm not playing the victim either. It was a dumb situation that destroyed an important relationship in my life.

I have no idea what it was I was even doing because we never got to even talk about whatever it was exactly that I did. There's no big conspiracy there. There's a broken relationship over both of our issues with communication when it's a tense conversation.

This then turned into things like me opening doors for her, which makes her feel like she's helpless. I've opened doors my whole life for others. I never intended for that to make her feel bad or helpless in any way whatsoever. I did it out of respect and because that's what I've always done.

But my intentions did not matter to her, and I accept that's her right.

My struggle in the conversation then became with how to create rules in my head for when it's ok, and when it's not ok. She said as long as it's not performative bullshit it's fine. I looked up what would constitute performative actions, and that became even more confusing. These are the things we ended up arguing over.

There were a dozen such things that started piling onto the conversation. It was two neuro divergent people having their first ever argument and we had no guidelines in place for how to communicate when things are tense.

That's all. So I should hand over the subreddit to a PAC and a Non Profit because of that?”

We want transparency as to what happened regarding the sexually inappropriate incident that happened with fungi that he admitted to in his since deleted comments. No one can post on the 50501 main subreddit. This is such a mess.

Originally Posted By u/pawrescue At 2025-04-24 10:40:18 PM | Source