Studies have found that the thread under an article can colour how readers judge the article itself. Knowing how it happens makes it easier to read the comments, and to write them, with a cooler head.
In a 2012 study, comments for or against a neutral article changed what readers thought other people believed, and through that, how they judged the article.
Pick what you see under an article. The bar shows how strongly research suggests that kind of thread can colour your reading of the article, or, for the last option, how much it helped.
Based on published studies of news comment sections. Results come from particular samples and topics, so treat them as tendencies, not rules.
TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
Most of us read them, and hosts can help.
One figure on how many people read comments, one on what a reporter's presence did.
77.9%
Americans who have read online comments
A 2015 survey of 1,471 Americans found 77.9% had read online comments and 55.0% had left one. Only 14% had commented on news.
READERS · CENTER FOR MEDIA ENGAGEMENT
17% lower
Drop in the chance of an uncivil comment
Over 70 days and 2,408 comments on a TV station's Facebook page, a reporter joining in, about four times per post, cut the chance of an uncivil comment by 17%.
CIVILITY · CENTER FOR MEDIA ENGAGEMENT
In the same field study, 47% of all comments were coded as uncivil. The reporter's involvement reduced incivility but did not cure it, and it did not change the number of comments.
FOUR HABITS TO TRY
Read below the line, keep your own view.
None of these means giving up the comments. They are ways to notice the pull the research describes, as a reader and as a commenter.
Read the article first
Form your view of the piece before you scroll. Readers in one study credited comment opinions to the article itself.
Remember who comments
Only 14% of Americans surveyed had commented on news, so a busy thread is a small, self-selected group.
Notice the tone, not just the point
Insults shifted readers' judgements in the nasty effect study. Ask whether a comment would persuade you without the rudeness.
Ask a question
Answering questions, asking them and adding facts were the moves used by the reporter whose involvement made the thread more civil.
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.
WHY PEOPLE COMMENT
Most comments are about feelings.
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.
In the 2015 survey, 56.0% of news commenters said they comment to express an opinion or emotion. Adding information, correcting inaccuracies and taking part in the debate came next.
The same survey found argumentative comments were a reason people avoided comment sections: 33.9% of news commenters and 40.9% of comment readers named them. Over 60% would like journalists to clarify factual questions in the comments.
Questions
Questions people ask
Can comments really change how I see an article?
Studies suggest they can. In the 'nasty effect' experiment, rude comments under a balanced article about nanotechnology polarised readers' views of its risks, and the researchers said uncivil comments changed some readers' interpretation of the story itself.
Is a comment section a good guide to public opinion?
Not a reliable one. In one survey only 14% of Americans had commented on news, and news commenters were more likely than comment readers to be male, with lower education and incomes. A 2012 study found comments still shifted readers' beliefs about what other people think.
Does it matter if the comments are polite?
Tone mattered in the nasty effect study, but the researchers said plain disagreement can also sway perception. Politeness makes a thread easier to read; it does not make it a neutral sample.
What makes a comment section more civil?
In a field study with a local TV station, a known reporter answering questions, asking questions and adding information cut the chance of an uncivil comment by 17%. A logo-only station account doing the same made no difference.
Why do people leave comments?
In a 2015 US survey, 56.0% of news commenters said they do it to express an opinion or emotion. Others said they comment to add information, correct inaccuracies or take part in the debate.
