Investigating Moderation Challenges to Combating Hate and Harassment: The Case of Mod-Admin Power Dynamics and Feature Misuse on Reddit

Watch a 12-minute conference presentation from USENIX Security '24 exploring the challenges faced by volunteer moderators in combating hate and harassment on Reddit. Through qualitative content analysis of 115 threads from moderator support forums, learn about the complex dynamics between moderators and platform administrators, privacy-utility tradeoffs, and systematic misuse of platform features for online abuse. Gain insights into how social media platforms can better design security and safety features to support volunteer moderators in creating safer online environments. The research, conducted by scholars from Northeastern University, Wellesley College, and George Washington University, offers valuable recommendations for improving platform design to resist feature exploitation and enhance moderation effectiveness.