Peloton blocks users from creating #StopTheSteal hashtag on app

Companies including TikTok and Pinterest have also blocked the hashtag

Peloton blocks users from creating Stop The Steal tag on app (Getty Images)

Peloton appears to have joined a growing list of companies blocking content related to the pro-Trump group Stop The Steal after the violent Capitol riots.

On Monday, The Verge reported that the Peloton app, where individuals can connect with other users and access classes, has banned users from creating a tag #StopTheSteal.

On the app, tags function as a way for users to find like-minded individuals who may have shared goals, with The Verge reporting that tags a user has joined appear under their name on the company’s leaderboard during workouts.

As of Monday, attempts to create a #StopTheSteal tag are now blocked, with a message appearing that reads: “This Tag does not meet our guidelines. Please contact Support if you believe this is an error.”

The block also applies to alternative spellings of the tag, with attempts to create a tag #StopTheSteall resulting in the same message on the exercise company’s app.

In Peloton’s community guidelines, it states that the company does not allow “hate, offensive, and obscene speech,” and that the rule applies to “any leaderboard names, locations, profile pictures, Tags or any other User Content”.

Peloton blocks users from creating Stop The Steal tag on app (Peloton)

“Healthy debates are allowed on the Peloton Service, but we ask that you be courteous, kind, and respectful at all times when interacting with others on the Peloton Service,” the guidelines state, with the company explaining that the policy refer to any content that “promotes, relates to, or condones lack of respect, discrimination, or violence of any kind against individuals or groups”.

The company’s action against the phrase comes after it banned “politically related posts or comments” from its Facebook group last year.

“We know political issues are important and we encourage you to find other channels to engage in lively debates,” the Official Peloton Member Page reads under the group rules section.

With the ban, Peloton joins other platforms including Pinterest and TikTok, which have implemented similar policies against pro-Trump topics, as well as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, which have banned the president indefinitely.

However, searches for tags related to “Trump” are allowed on the app, with the tag #Trump2020 currently boasting more than 3,000 members.

The Independent has contacted Peloton for comment.