Anonymous speech can be honest, but it can also be hate-filled, inaccurate, and offensive. One of the places to find the most offensive online comments is in the comment section of news articles. In these sections commenters can post offensive content anonymously or under a pseudonym. This anonymity allows the commenter to protect themselves. Their identity is not linked to the offensive content, and the commenter is protected from any social or public backlash. These comments are attached to the news articles and published by anonymous commenters, but with the invitation and permission of news websites. News websites are willingly allowing their comment sections to be a platform for offensive material.
Andrea Kates, author and founder of …show more content…
Kates writes about The Huffington Post’s decision to remove their reader’s ability to post comments anonymously due to offensive comments. She argues that anonymity “is, or at least should be, a human right” (32). She doesn’t deny that cyberbullying and offensive material does appear to thrive under anonymity. She argues that while removing the ability to comment anonymously could deter commenters from posting offensive materials it could also deter “good, honest people who want to have their say without being identified” from posting as well (32). Perhaps the Huffington Post didn’t think of these good, honest people before removing the ability of users to comment anonymously, but the decision to remove the ability to post anonymous comments is ultimately The Huffington Post’s. It’s also in the website’s ability to reverse this decision. The Huffington Post has the right to decide …show more content…
All three sites are popular, and all three articles where accessible from the homepage of these news sites. The article “Joe Biden Aide Sends Letter Detailing Vice President's Looming 2016 Decision” by Arlette Saenz was published by the Yahoo news website. The article was eleven minutes old with ninety-nine comments. The comments can be sorted in order by newest, oldest, most replied and, the default setting, popular now. After scrolling below the article, the ten most popular now comments are visible with the option of viewing ten more comments by clicking the view more comments button. Commenters had to sign in with an account that required a name, email, and password. The names of the ten most popular now commenters appearing in the following order: “John,” “Thomas,” “What next,” “Joe,” “The Truth,” “L D,” “Molon Labe” and “liberty s.” One of the most offensive comments is from the top popular now commenter, John, while most of the popular now comments contain negative remarks towards Joe Biden. The most positive and thoughtful comments I encountered were in a New York Post article by Ken Davidoff about Daniel Murphy from the New York Mets baseball team. Conducting my primary research I discovered most popular news sites do not allow any comments to certain articles, only allowing readers to share links to articles on social media
Andrea Kates, author and founder of …show more content…
Kates writes about The Huffington Post’s decision to remove their reader’s ability to post comments anonymously due to offensive comments. She argues that anonymity “is, or at least should be, a human right” (32). She doesn’t deny that cyberbullying and offensive material does appear to thrive under anonymity. She argues that while removing the ability to comment anonymously could deter commenters from posting offensive materials it could also deter “good, honest people who want to have their say without being identified” from posting as well (32). Perhaps the Huffington Post didn’t think of these good, honest people before removing the ability of users to comment anonymously, but the decision to remove the ability to post anonymous comments is ultimately The Huffington Post’s. It’s also in the website’s ability to reverse this decision. The Huffington Post has the right to decide …show more content…
All three sites are popular, and all three articles where accessible from the homepage of these news sites. The article “Joe Biden Aide Sends Letter Detailing Vice President's Looming 2016 Decision” by Arlette Saenz was published by the Yahoo news website. The article was eleven minutes old with ninety-nine comments. The comments can be sorted in order by newest, oldest, most replied and, the default setting, popular now. After scrolling below the article, the ten most popular now comments are visible with the option of viewing ten more comments by clicking the view more comments button. Commenters had to sign in with an account that required a name, email, and password. The names of the ten most popular now commenters appearing in the following order: “John,” “Thomas,” “What next,” “Joe,” “The Truth,” “L D,” “Molon Labe” and “liberty s.” One of the most offensive comments is from the top popular now commenter, John, while most of the popular now comments contain negative remarks towards Joe Biden. The most positive and thoughtful comments I encountered were in a New York Post article by Ken Davidoff about Daniel Murphy from the New York Mets baseball team. Conducting my primary research I discovered most popular news sites do not allow any comments to certain articles, only allowing readers to share links to articles on social media