Banning anonymous comments won’t make the internet better
Last week, anonymous comments were in the spotlight. John Steedman called for them to be scrapped, and a decision in the Dylan Voller case made publishers liable for readers' comments on Facebook. But getting rid of anonymous comments isn't the solution, according to Quiip's Amber Robinson.
Last week, WPP boss John Steedman called for an end to anonymous online comments. And a ruling in the Dylan Voller case set a precedent that publishers will be responsible for comments left on third-party platforms like Facebook. This is a problem. Publishers – and their followers – generate a relentless tide of Facebook comments, and have access to minimal moderation options. One broadcaster we work with receives more than 138,000 comments each week on just one of its pages.
The only way to stop comments appearing on published posts is to add in word-based filters, which automatically hide comments until moderators can review and publish them. These filters are designed to hide profanity, not ‘hacked’ to prevent every single comment from appearing. That’s because Facebook is built in the United States, where the right to freedom of speech is enshrined and libel is hardly ever prosecuted.
It’s obvious that this is not a workable solution. Either our defamation laws need to change to take into account social media, as is the case in Britain, or Facebook needs to provide better moderation services to publishers, whose content drives people to use and engage with Facebook. (Publishers also spend a lot of money just to have their posts seen in the newsfeed.) Publishers can, and should, push for these changes.
But last week’s events also push us to ask: Are Australian online communities safe and respectful? Do they inform and support their members? Do they align with publishers’ organisational goals? I’d argue no, no, and no.
If social media platforms can be compared to a public square, we have allowed preachers of hate to enter. We’ve allowed bots disguised as humans to infiltrate our places of discussion and manipulate conversations. We’ve given equal space to people just dropping by and those who’ve contributed to the community for years.
By reframing our online communities as intentional, rather than accidental, spaces, there is a huge opportunity to create value and, yes, drive website traffic. But the way to do that isn’t banning anonymous comments.
While anonymity certainly gives some trolls the guts to say nasty things, anyone who has moderated Facebook comments knows that people are also happy to say absolutely vile things with their full name on display. (Look at some of the replies Change.Org director and LBQTI activist Sally Rugg received after appearing on Q&A last week.)
And anonymity provides a valuable opportunity to discuss sensitive topics such as mental health and abuse without the fear of having your name attached.
And there is another way. Websites like Reddit and The Guardian have tried to improve the quality of their online communities by implementing user tools which enable readers to ‘upvote’ comments and ‘downvote’ others. Reddit also awards pro-social behaviour with its ‘karma’ points system, which elevates comments made by regular members whose opinions are respected by the wider group.
The Guardian features comments it believes are particularly worthwhile as a ‘Guardian Pick’, acting as both an incentive and an exemplar for others.
Creating intentional communities isn’t easy. Facebook needs to take the moderation concerns of publishers seriously and provide more tools and control for page owners. Publishers need to not just invest in moderation services, but in community management.
In a sea of online news served up via algorithm, great communities make the internet a place worth visiting – and staying for. And those communities can include anonymous comments.
Amber Robinson is a social media strategist at Quiip
Yes it will.
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No, it won’t. There are too many totalitarian control-freaks who seek to control speech and thought, and history shows they will lose. Their historic mentor and father-figure, Josef Stalin, embedded control over public discourse (as Xi Xingping does today) which is exactly what these complainers also seek to do. Apart from also murdering 60 million of his own people, Stalin brought about the ultimate destruction of the Soviet Union. The vast majority of online comments are fair, some more robust than others, but if you are a quivering snowflake, then maybe the internet isn’t for you. In life, if you want to stick your head above the parapet to be noticed, then you have to expect a few missiles coming your way. Accept that and get over it, or get off the internet.
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“The only way to stop comments appearing on published posts is…”
Don’t be silly.
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Hi Adam, I am not sure what you mean? Facebook doesn’t allow News Publisher Pages to turn off commenting when they post something.
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It’s interesting how *a certain community* is always dragged out as the example of suffering bullying. Newsflash: everyone gets bullied whatever group they’re in. Some lefties cop it for not being left enough (see Twitter at large). Conservatives cop it in just about every public forum (“old white male!”). Some indigenous people (Jacinta Price) cop it for ‘selling out’ to the whitefellas. Some people cop it for using their sexuality as a shield while demanding the community change to suit them.
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This may be a bit of a sad confession, but I am fascinated by observing human behaviour in the comments around anything on Social Media on Meghan Markle. This is not an Australian thing or an anonymous thing, seeking out a way to express pure nastiness seems to be a sad part of human nature. It almost seems people are looking for someone and someway to vent their own anger and frustrations in any way they can. This is a bigger issue that needs to be looked at as leaving these comments up is teaching people its OK to say these kinds of things, that it is a fun game, like a witch hunt. I loved the piece Constance Hall did on this in response to her own bullying experience. https://www.facebook.com/mrsconstancehall/videos/337832663730817/ I am all for free speech, but there needs to be more education around the harmful effects of these comments that get people to think twice about the emotional impact they are having on people before they have a go.
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What a time we live in.
The permafrost is melting while we talk about people’s feelings being hurt by comments on the internet.
We are doomed.
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The sooner the internet is switched to ‘read only’ the better.
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We are only reading content written by morons, employed by billionaires………..
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I take your point Hank, but public discourse is being thrashed out on the internet, especially around topics as important as climate change. How we handle public and political discourse at scale does have real world influence. But I can’t say the debate is looking overly optimistic.. we may well be doomed..
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