Can Content Moderation Sustain Truthful Communication Online?

Abstract information

In this video, ROBIN NG examines how content moderation affects truthful communication on online platforms like YouTube and Facebook. He develops a theoretical signaling model in which creators balance informational accuracy and entertainment while facing incentives to mislead users. The analysis shows that moderation can enable communication by reducing the effort needed to signal truth, but excessive or insufficient moderation can reduce user welfare or collapse content creation altogether. The video also explores how misinformation, generative AI, and platform business models limit the effectiveness of moderation and may reshape the media landscape.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB101221

Researcher

Robin Ng is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Mannheim. His research lies at the intersection of industrial organization, behavioural economics, and microeconomic theory, with a focus on the digital economy, platform design and regulation, digital media, and the economics of AI.

Institution information

University of Mannheim (Universität Mannheim)

For generations, the University of Mannheim has been preparing students to take on leadership roles in business, academia, and society. One of the university’s strengths in this task is its profile, which is characterized by the economic and social sciences. It is in these fields that the University of Mannheim has repeatedly been ranked as one of the top 20 European research institutions. Key focuses of Mannheim researchers include decision-making processes and elections, governance, regulation, competition and innovation, migration and multilingualism, and the culture of change. The campus surrounding Mannheim’s baroque palace is a place where bright minds from across the globe come together to learn, discuss, research, and prepare to make their mark on the world.
University of Mannheim (Universität Mannheim)

Original Publication

Moderating Content-Hosting Platforms

Citation

Robin Ng, 

Latest Thinking, 

Can Content Moderation Sustain Truthful Communication Online?, 

https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB101221, 

Credits:

© Robin Ng

and Latest Thinking

This work is licensed under CC-BY 4.0