Comment Sections
Journalist Engagement in Facebook Comments: Try Ac...
March 24, 2021
We tested journalist responses to Facebook comments on news stories in order to find out which responses led to more positive perceptions regarding the news outlets and its comment moderation. The messages were tested in the U.S. and Germany to see how well they worked across different cultures....
News Comments: What Happens When They’re Gon...
October 21, 2020
We worked with 24 Gannett-owned newsrooms and Coral by Vox Media to engage in the most ambitious test to-date of what comment sections mean to news sites....
Moderating Uncivil Comments Hurts Trust In News
July 18, 2019
The Center for Media Engagement’s previous research showed that uncivil comments can taint the perception of a news site. Now, we…...
Attacks in the Comment Sections: What It Means for...
January 24, 2019
In a new study, the Center for Media Engagement looked at how uncivil comments affect perceptions of a news site and ways journalists can address the problem....
Comment Section Survey Across 20 News Sites
January 12, 2017
We partnered with 20 U.S.-based news organizations to conduct one of the largest-ever surveys of online news commenters....
Journalists and Online Comments
August 30, 2016
By interviewing working journalists, we learned that they do read the comments and respond to commenters....
10 Things We Learned by Analyzing 9 Million Commen...
June 21, 2016
This report describes what we learned from analyzing 9,616,211 comments people posted to The New York Times website....
Survey of Commenters and Comment Readers
March 14, 2016
We describe the demographic makeup, attitudes, and behaviors of the people who comprise the online commenting world....
Background Information & Facts
June 10, 2015
People are more willing to get involved in political discussion when they're provided with background information containing pro and con arguments....
Restructuring Comment Sections
January 30, 2015
There are several benefits - and limits - to using a three-column comment section as opposed to using a traditional one-column section....
New Approaches to Comment Moderation
November 24, 2014
For three months, we attempted to code for incivility within online news comments in new ways. In this progress report, we share thoughts on what worked, what didn't, and what research can be done next....
Journalist Involvement in Comment Sections
September 10, 2014
Uncivil comments decreased when a journalist interacted with online commenters....
Improving Civil Discourse
September 10, 2014
We have partnered with the National Institute for Civil Discourse to research how to improve online discourse. We began by reviewing academic research on creating civil online spaces. In the coming months, we will conduct a series of focus groups to understand people's thoughts about discussing politics online....
How the Public Views Deletion of Offensive Comment...
June 16, 2021