Our data show:

🔹 Most people want some level of content moderation—but opinions vary on who should be responsible.

🔹 There’s strong public concern about misinformation, toxicity, and online harm.

🔹 Many users feel platforms aren’t doing enough—but they also worry about overreach.

What do people really think about online speech, moderation & platform responsibility? Despite claims that users want fewer restrictions, there’s surprisingly little empirical evidence on public opinion,especially beyond the U.S. Our study fills this gap with representative samples from 10 countries

40% of respondents agreed:

"We should be free to express ourselves, even if it hurts, offends, shocks, or disturbs others."

But where do we draw the line between free expression and harmful speech?

In an upcoming report, we dive into this critical trade-off 📊

Only 17% of respondents across 10 countries support allowing offensive content targeting certain groups on social media.

In the U.S., support rises to just 29%.

There seems to be very little tolerance for hateful speech.

🚨 New Preview of Our Upcoming Report 🚨

Leaked Meta guidelines suggest harmful speech like "Immigrants are filthy pieces of shit" or "Gays are freaks" may soon be allowed.

Does this policy shift reflect public opinion?

Our survey across 10 countries finds no evidence of support for such content.

How do citizens navigate the trade-off between tackling misinformation and preserving free expression online?

In the coming weeks, we’ll release a comprehensive report featuring empirical evidence from 10 countries on how people view key trade-offs.

Our findings reveal that clear majorities worldwide believe platforms should label misleading posts from politicians.
And while we don’t show it here, the same applies to misleading posts from citizens as well.

At the Content Moderation Lab, my colleagues and I conducted a cross-national survey to explore public attitudes on social media, content moderation, and freedom of speech.

Around the world, citizens are divided on who should take responsibility for maintaining a safe and healthy online environment

Contrary to Mark Zuckerberg’s claim that replacing fact-checkers with "community notes" will enhance free expression, this move does not seem intended to satisfy US users’ supposed craving for a return to Meta’s "free speech roots."

The reality is far more nuanced.

[New Paper] with @franziskapradel.bsky.social, @janzilinsky.bsky.social & @spyroskosmidis.bsky.social now out in APSR!

So happy with this piece which significantly reflects the trajectory of our research agenda at the Chair of Digital Governance!

polisky Commsky

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

I am looking for a postdoctoral researcher to join my team at the Chair of Digital Governance, Technical University of Munich.

- 3 years
- Focus: online toxicity, experiments, causal inference
- Deadline: January 7
- Starting: April 2024

polisky Commsky csssky

More portal.mytum.de/jobs/wissens...

Hugely excited about our workshop on Content Moderation & Free Speech on Social Media starting tomorrow at the TUM

@spyroskosmidis.bsky.social and I cant wait to welcome an incredible lineup of researchers and people from the policy and tech arena for 2 days of intense discussions!

polisky commsky