Large online forums moderate almost entirely through self-learning algorithms

Evidence

As Sophie Niedenzu, for years a forum moderator at the major Austrian daily newspaper Der Standard, reports, in many large online forums, some with tens of thousands of comments, posts are primarily reviewed by semi-automated systems. Only comments that a self-learning algorithm recognizes as possibly containing aggressive wording, or links, are checked manually: “No human can read all that.” — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice, 342

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s interests in platform moderation and algorithmic content governance — parallels the automation debates seen elsewhere in their library.