u/search was a mod on this sub for a brief period starting around February, just as the Smollett hoax began. He made a strange decision to enforce the "confirmed hoax" rule, which quickly became an excuse to remove any posts related to the developing hoax. Some suspect he was effectively a PR agent who forced his way onto the mod team, and his actions have definitely split the userbase.    He has been sacked, however, so there's a high chance the sub will recover.