Effects of Digital Jury Moderation on the Polarization of Social Media Users
As polarization among political officials has increased dramatically in recent years, the social media landscape has followed suit. The increased prevalence of disinformation, inflammatory rhetoric, and harassment online has augmented polarization in turn, propelling a feedback loop resulting in the erosion of democratic norms. Effective moderation of social media platforms can help solve this problem.
This project explores how implementing a democratic, peer-based “digital jury” moderation system for social media platforms would impact polarization online, compared to traditional, “top-down” moderation that is conducted by employees of the platforms themselves.