Christmas truce breaks out in comment sections across internet

WORLDWIDE—Something broke out across internet comments this morning, and many news outlets are calling it "peace." It's impossible to say what precipitated this sudden shift into jovial, lowercase dialogue, though there is a subreddit where theories, both conspiracy and regular, abound. Reddit user plwlkr99 suggested that it was a blog post about trigger warnings where enemy combatants first held their fire.

plwklr99 explains: "I don't know how to describe it. Both sides were launching full-scale assaults over safe spaces. C-words and f-bombs were flying. Then out of nowhere, someone posts a link to "All I Want For Christmas is You" and the thread goes silent. What else was there to say?"

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While the inception cannot be confirmed, the result over the next several hours was undeniable. The holiday spirit spread across every divisive issue on the internet. Members of the Christian right wished a Merry Christmas to the secular left in their enemies' native tongue, actually writing out the words "Happy Holidays."

In the comments under an article on Planned Parenthood, pro-choice and pro-life came together to exchange gifs. Amongst the good tidings and cheer, some skepticism emerged as active posters like Anika G. urgently suggested that this was a trap. She warned fellow pro-lifers not to give out any important personal data. Sadeem M. assuaged her concerns with a very earnest and poignant series of emojis.

Today also saw a very different internet for outspoken feminists, many of whom reported receiving no violent threats directed at their bodies or obscenities related to their figures. In a Facebook post, activist Anjali Sadana called it "a deep and eerie silence, like when the power goes out and the background hum of electricity is suddenly absent."

Perhaps most surprising was that the ceasefire permeated some of the most hostile corners of comment, like the vast and terrifying thread that has been unravelling for years below a video about gun control titled, "Guns Don't Kill People, Except When They Do But That Doesn't Count." Having covered the YouTube conflict since the beginning, celebrated journalist Avery Chase tweeted: "supporters and critics of 2nd amendment rights now in spontaneous ceasefire. war correspondent's mind subsequently explodes."

Despite the good cheer, not all assaults have halted. Maelstroms continued under hashtags like: #genderneutralbathrooms, #harambe, and #blackjamesbond.

With an implicit understanding that the truce is temporary, many users took the opportunity to even go outside, occasionally without their devices. Their avatars temporarily removed, they wander the streets this week, unable to tell their allies from their enemies.

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