SHOULD people be allowed to comment freely online? And who should take responsibility when a comment oversteps common decency?
They are questions I am often asked. As editor of several newspaper websites, as well as social media accounts, there are often times when comments come close to the line.
Newsquest, the business which owns the Hampshire Chronicle, has a policy of allowing comments to be made on its stories. The default position is that all stories are open except in truly exceptional cases, for example, a murder trial or a suicide inquest.
Readers can sign up for accounts and choose their usernames then comment underneath stories. Most act sensibly and treat the forum with respect, however, there are a few who abuse the system.
Allowing this function gives our readers the chance to have their say, and for them to read what others think, plus it encourages people to look at the comment section and come back to that story multiple times – a bonus for us as a publisher and for our advertisers.
As a newspaper that’s largely what we want, people to be reading and talking about our stories – and it’s also a great way for us to gauge public opinion. (However I urge all new reporters to put on their thickest skin when wading into the comment section).
It would be an impossible task for us to preview all these comments before they are posted, given that we are just a small team, but we do have a responsibility in law to moderate these comments quickly.
Most are moderated instantly and ones that clearly break terms such as spam comments are quick to be taken down centrally.
Others that require a bit more local knowledge or are more nuanced in the offence, are flagged up to our local team via email and one of us will read through and then either allow the comment or delete it.
Readers can flag any comment for moderation. And we are genuinely grateful when they do.
When we delete a comment, there’s an option to delete just that one comment or to ban and block the user, removing all their previous comments. The most extreme banning and blocking is not something we have to do regularly, thankfully.
I am not sure whether it’s the thrill of creating a seemingly unrecognisable username that prompts people into posting nasty comments, or whether they would do it anyway, regardless of the name.
Would 20 years ago they simply have written a letter for us to publish? Or would they have started to tell everyone who would listen? Boring the bartender, stopping the postie, etc etc.
Whatever the truth is, some of the most vicious hide behind fake names and fake profiles. They create email addresses in order to create accounts.
Certain topics provoke more discussion than others, and politics seems to prove the most emotive.
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You only have to look at the comments around Liz Truss. MPs and elected councillors seem to be – rightly or wrongly – fair game.
Many feel it is their right, having voted or not voted for them, to be able to say what they like about them.
Winchester MP Steve Brine often faces criticism in the comment section of the Hampshire Chronicle. It’s a topic that he has even discussed at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport select committee.
He has previously told me that he is amazed at how open the comment section is and how anonymous people are allowed to be.
But the problem of defamatory comments does not stop there. It only gets worse when it crosses over to social media.
Like our comment section, where people can create accounts after they have been blocked, the same issue exists on social media, except it’s often without the same level of moderation that you would get from one of our team.
If you’ve ever tried to report a comment or post on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, then you will understand. It can takes days, even weeks, and in one case that I saw recently, months for a comment to be taken down.
But who is really to blame here? Should it be up to the sites to better moderate, or should we be tackling the source? Do people understand the consequences of defamation?
Does the pensioner commenting from her living room after a glass of wine on her iPad realise that her comment is being broadcast to the world?
That her sneering comment, probably better reserved for her best friend, has been published and could be read by everyone?
People can be quick to shoot the messenger, but should we really be going to the source and educating people how to behave online?
In my view, if you wouldn’t walk into your local pub and make that comment loudly to the assembled audience, then you really shouldn’t be saying it online.
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community – a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
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