Reuters will no longer allow comments on news stories, it says in an unsigned editor’s note Friday. Discussion has moved to “social media and online forums,” the note says, and “Those communities offer vibrant conversation and, importantly, are self-policed by participants to keep on the fringes those who would abuse the privilege of commenting.”
Comments will still be allowed on opinion pieces and blog posts, the notice says.
The Huffington Post announced last year it would end anonymous comments. Sam Kirkland reported later that year that the change would require commenters to register with Facebook, something many people weren’t terribly keen on (based on the comments I read).
Some sites have eliminated comments altogether: Popular Science doinked them last September, and the Chicago Sun-Times eliminated them this summer, saying they contributed to a “morass of negativity, racism, hate speech and general trollish behaviors that detract from the content.”
Related: Anonymous comments can be ‘a frothing, bubbling cauldron of insanity’
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