Work

Crowdsourcing the Mitigation of disinformation and misinformation: The case of spontaneous community-based moderation on Reddit

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Community-based content moderation, an approach that utilises user-generated knowledge to shape the ranking and display of online content, is recognised as a potential tool in combating disinformation and misinformation. This study examines this phenomenon on Reddit, which employs a platform-wide content ranking system based on user upvotes and downvotes. By empowering users to influence content visibility, Reddit's system serves as a naturally occurring community moderation mechanism, providing an opportunity to analyse how users engage with this system. Focusing on discussions related to climate change, we observe that in this domain, low-credibility content is spontaneously moderated by Reddit users, although the magnitude of this effect varies across Subreddits. We also identify temporal fluctuations in content removal rates, indicating dynamic and context-dependent patterns influenced by platform policies and socio-political factors. These findings highlight the potential of community-based moderation in mitigating online false information, offering valuable insights for the development of robust social media moderation frameworks.

Source: Online Social Networks and Media

DOI: 10.1016/j.osnem.2024.100291

Authors: Giulio Corsi, Elizabeth Seger, Sean Ó hÉigeartaigh

Institution: Demos

Language: English

Topic: Misinformation and Its Impacts

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,510