New article: “The moral gatekeeper? Moderation and deletion of user-generated content in a leading news forum”

Together with Svenja Boberg, Tim Schatto-Eckrott and Thorsten Quandt, Lena Frischlich published the article “The moral gatekeeper? Moderation and deletion of user-generated content in a leading news forum” in the journal Media and Communication. The study examines user comments (including all incoming and rejected comments) of the largest newspaper forum in Germany (Spiegel Online) in terms of the moderation decision, the topic addressed, and the use of insulting language using automated content analysis. The analyses revealed that the deletion of user comments is a frequently used moderation strategy. Overall, more than one-third of comments studied were rejected. Further, users mostly engaged with political topics. The usage of swear words was not a reason to block a comment, except when offenses were used in connection with politically sensitive topics. Finally, the results are discussed with regard to the need for journalists to develop consistent and transparent moderation strategies.