In a world where most, if not all, things can be found online, publishing high-quality content has become the norm. While platforms leverage it for business profit, they also shoulder the responsibility of regulating it.
Especially for brands with large following, they must filter unwanted content to stay authentic and trustworthy in the face of digital threats. This is why most companies invest in content moderation services.
But what is content moderation? How does it safeguard online communities from misinformation, hate speech, and harassment? And how does it help online platforms thrive?
The Need for Content Moderation
The need for safer and more engaging digital spaces is more apparent now more than ever. A single negative comment on an online business platform can result in backlash or lengthy and expensive lawsuits. Although it’s impossible to control people’s perception of a brand, regulating the content they see can encourage them to engage with the business.
When users have meaningful interactions on a platform, they can attract other people to come on board. These online communities keep online platforms afloat. However, when discussions get heated, a mediator should prevent conversations from escalating to profanity, hateful speech, and offensive language.
In this case, the intermediary is a content moderation company that can filter and review all user-generated content (UGC) on behalf of the business to ensure compliance with community guidelines and platform policies.
How does content moderation work?
Content moderation involves screening harmful content on different online channels, including websites and social media. This is done by a content moderator who bears several responsibilities. But what does a content moderator do to keep platform operations running smoothly?
Here is a quick list of the duties of a content moderator:
- Monitoring UGC, such as social media posts, blog comments, and customer reviews based on established rules and regulations
- Handling escalated issues and making judgment calls on complex cases
- Preparing reports of content moderation issues
- Refining content moderation policies and community guidelines
- Monitoring user behavior and digital trends
- Ensuring compliance with evolving laws and regulations on data security and user privacy
- Handling appeal cases from users who claim to have been falsely flagged for harmful content
Overall, the role of content moderators is significant for maintaining order and safety within digital environments. By strictly enforcing community guidelines, companies can protect users from unwanted content, fostering security and trust.
Diverse Methods of Content Moderation
Content moderators employ various methods to deliver effective content moderation services. Each of these techniques bears its own advantages and disadvantages. Here’s how they differ from one another:
Pre-moderation
In pre-moderation, content is reviewed before being published or viewed on the platform. Each UGC is checked by human moderators or automated systems for approval. Those that comply with the platform’s standards are posted, while those that violate rules are rejected.
While this method offers the highest degree of control, it can be a slow process, especially if human moderators are in charge. For platforms dealing with time-sensitive content, this technique is not advisable.
Post-moderation
When content is instantly published on the platform before being reviewed, the process is called post-moderation. While this gives instant gratification to users, especially those in online communities, it provides no guarantee that potentially harmful material hasn’t already been viewed by the platform’s audience.
For child-friendly websites, this could increase the risk of predatory behavior, leading to lower engagement and bad publicity.
Reactive Moderation
Reactive moderation is another moderation technique that relies on the efforts of users to flag content that violates guidelines. They can use website report buttons or file a complaint through customer support. Although a cheap and powerful tool, it should only be used in conjunction with other content moderation methods.
Community Moderation
Also called distributed moderation, this approach leverages the participation of the platform’s community by allowing members to vote on which content should be viewed on top of their page and which should be removed. However, this process gives limited control to the platform owner over what is being moderated.
Impact of Content Moderation Services on Platforms
By adopting the right techniques, content moderation companies can bring a positive impact to online platforms and reduce the negative consequences of toxic content.
Here are some of the benefits of content moderation:
Enhancing User Experience
User experience determines if users will stay engaged with a business or not. By keeping online platforms free from negative content, users can safely browse a website and talk to fellow users without worrying about suspicious links or accounts.
Regulating Unwanted Behaviors
Content moderation is the key to curbing hate speech and harassment online that can have detrimental effects on user well-being and mental health. Hateful language can also incite violence among users.
To keep conversations meaningful, content moderation employs different strategies to filter keywords that contain profanity and phrases that are sexually explicit or have violent intentions.
Fostering Healthy Interactions
As guardians of the internet, content moderators are tasked to effectively administer the platform’s regulations. This means encouraging only positive and constructive user interactions. They can also ban users who are unnecessarily mean or exhibiting suspicious behavior (e.g., pretending to be another person)
Combating Misinformation
Misinformation is spreading like wildfire on the internet. Content moderation services are also intended to help combat fake news by including fact-checking protocols in their moderation systems. AI algorithms, in particular, can quickly detect inaccuracies in an article and recognize patterns that will reveal if the information is authentic or not.
The Future of Content Moderation
Technological advancements, particularly in AI and machine learning, are revolutionizing content moderation, making it more efficient and precise. However, the challenge remains to balance freedom of expression with user safety, ensuring that platforms are both open and secure. Community involvement is also becoming crucial as users play a more active role in moderating content.
In summary, as content moderation continues to evolve, it will be essential for platforms to adapt and implement these innovations to thrive in the digital landscape.
