---
title: "Peloton — Yes, the Exercise Bike — Is Fighting Hate Speech on Its Platform"
description: "Peloton, the digital exercise bike company, is now waging a war against hate speech and misinformation on its online platform."
date: "2020-10-09"
modified: "2020-10-09"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/peloton-exercise-bike-fighting-hate-speech-platform"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
tags:
  - "communication"
  - "content moderation"
  - "peloton"
  - "the digest"
---

# Peloton — Yes, the Exercise Bike — Is Fighting Hate Speech on Its Platform

![Peloton, the digital exercise bike company, is now waging a war against hate speech and misinformation on its online platform.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/peloton-exercise-bike-fighting-hate-speech-platform.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Peloton / Futurism\</em\>*

## Content Moderation

Peloton, the digital exercise bike company that went viral for a [deeply uncomfortable ad](<https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/dec/04/peloton-backlash-sexist-dystopian-exercise-bike-christmas-advert>), is now trying to purge its online community of slurs, political conspiracies, and hate speech.

While riding on a preset course on a Peloton bike, usernames of people who are currently doing the same or previously took the same ride pop up on the screen — but a troubling number of those usernames included racial slurs or were otherwise hateful, *[Axios](<https://www.axios.com/peloton-moderate-extremist-content-qanon-3f99957c-7525-4fc2-8d88-e35177f29aea.html>)*[ reports](<https://www.axios.com/peloton-moderate-extremist-content-qanon-3f99957c-7525-4fc2-8d88-e35177f29aea.html>). As a result, the company is finding itself in the unexpected position [moderating problematic content](<https://futurism.com/facebook-content-moderators-sue-ptsd>) — much like the public struggles of Facebook, Twitter and [YouTube](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/youtube-content-moderator-sues-psychological-trauma>).

## Tighter Rules

*Axios* reports that Peloton's online forums and communities were plagued by hate speech, political arguments, and baseless misinformation like the [QAnon conspiracy theories](<https://twitter.com/drewlgoins/status/1313617780420284419>). As a result, Peloton has [banned political posts](<https://www.facebook.com/groups/pelotonmembers/permalink/2466394960330979/>) from its community Facebook group, as well as hate speech and bullying — which, to be fair, probably should have been banned from the start.

https://twitter.com/drewlgoins/status/1313617780420284419

Peloton will still allow usernames that promote political causes, *Axios* reports, just so long as they don't break any of the other rules.

## New Pledge

Peloton's new rules, as described by *Axios*, sound more comprehensive than one might expect. They go beyond banning outright hate speech to include dog whistles, which are veiled or coded references to hateful and racist content — basically inside jokes for extremists.

"Peloton was built on community, inclusivity, and being the best version of yourself," a Peloton spokesperson told *Axios*. "We welcome members from all walks of life to have respectful and thought-provoking discussions... However, we have a zero-tolerance policy against hateful content."

**READ MORE:** [Peloton is figuring out how to moderate extremist content](<https://www.axios.com/peloton-moderate-extremist-content-qanon-3f99957c-7525-4fc2-8d88-e35177f29aea.html>) \[*Axios*\]

**More on content moderation:** *[YouTube Content Moderator Sues Over Psychological Trauma](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/youtube-content-moderator-sues-psychological-trauma>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)