# Why are most news sources closing their comment sections? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 6, 2016, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-most-news-sources-closing-their-comment-sections/742358 "2016-01-06T21:10:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-most-news-sources-closing-their-comment-sections/742358/1 "2016-01-06T21:10:40Z")
This [article](http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2015/10/27/the-lefts-war-on-comment-sections/) mentions **Progressive** sites closing comments. So far CNN, The Verge, Daily Beast, and Bustle are among dozens of sites that have closed comment sections. Many consider comment sections vile: > [@](#): > > This refrain can be found in almost every left-leaning publication these days. The Pacific Standard: “Even if [comments sections] aren’t vile and psychologically damaging, most of them aren’t worth your time.” Brooklyn Magazine: “Most comment sections are vats of poison, filled with grammatically questionable rants at best and violent hate speech at worst.” The Atlantic: “Online comments are often ignorant, racist, sexist, threatening, or otherwise worthless. But you knew that already.” Do Conservative sites also close their comment sections? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-most-news-sources-closing-their-comment-sections/742358/2 "2016-01-06T21:16:38Z")
Your quote seems to offer a solid answer to the question posed in your subject line. The comments submitted to news articles (and lots of other places, [like YouTube videos](https://xkcd.com/481/) serve as a peurile outlet for the posters, but they are a complete waste of everyone else’s time. If you’ve never read the comments below a news article, try it sometime; you’ll develop a dim view of humanity. ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-most-news-sources-closing-their-comment-sections/742358/3 "2016-01-06T21:18:16Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > If you’ve never read the comments below a news article, try it sometime; you’ll develop a dim view of humanity. If I had never read comments below a new articles, then what happened to several thousand hours of my time since 2008? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-most-news-sources-closing-their-comment-sections/742358/4 "2016-01-06T21:43:50Z")
From the article: > [@](#): > > For a while online, authoritarian progressives forgot that vanishingly few people in the real world agree with their feverish and silly “hot takes” on current news and their bizarre ideas about racism and sexism. Now the whole population is tech-savvy enough to have their say, authoritarians are scrambling for a return to the era of broadcast news, in which viewers were left with calling up the station and ranting down the phone as their only means of robust criticism. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-most-news-sources-closing-their-comment-sections/742358/5 "2016-01-06T21:45:46Z")
They are closing the comments for the same reason that carnivals have closed their side shows: sure, it might attract some traffic, but only the lowest and most ignorant. But seriously, for every thoughtful and insightful discussion of facts, opinions, and social policy, some intern is wasting a lot of hours wading through “‘Barry HUSSEIN Obummer’ der her amirite?” or “hash tag Anonymous let’s kill the oligarchs”, trying to avoid the legal and financial exposure if some schmuck actually manages to organize something more dangerous than a virtual circle jerk of like-minded idiots. Or at least that’s my assumption. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-most-news-sources-closing-their-comment-sections/742358/6 "2016-01-06T21:46:58Z")
Comments range from pathetic idiocy to scary, nasty, vile awful sociopathy. Moderating them would take a lot of people a lot time ($). They generally serve no use. One good use is for corrections. Articles are wrong a lot and it would be handy to have a place where those would go. Except, who would vet them, etc.? Another reason is that most sites are giving up on having their own little social network thing. People are just moving to Facebook and such. Go to the Facebook page for the news site, flame all you want. It’s not the news site’s problem now, it’s Facebook’s. (I.e., no one’s.) ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-most-news-sources-closing-their-comment-sections/742358/7 "2016-01-06T21:48:05Z")
Comments sections on news sites of any type are pretty much worthless unless well-moderated. Most news outlets don’t have the money to pay moderators, so closing them down is the next best thing. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-most-news-sources-closing-their-comment-sections/742358/8 "2016-01-06T21:48:44Z")
News comment sections. Nowhere in the galaxy will you find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be on guard. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-most-news-sources-closing-their-comment-sections/742358/9 "2016-01-06T22:02:37Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > From the article: The article is from Breitbart, which itself offers discourse little better than the Youtube comment section. ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-most-news-sources-closing-their-comment-sections/742358/10 "2016-01-06T22:11:39Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Now the whole population is tech-savvy enough to have their say, authoritarians are scrambling for a return to the era of broadcast news, in which viewers were left with calling up the station and ranting down the phone as their only means of robust criticism. As long as Social Media giants still allow Free Speech, the crimes of Political Incorrectness and Aggravated Political Incorrectness are tolerated. For how long? ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-most-news-sources-closing-their-comment-sections/742358/11 "2016-01-06T22:12:31Z")
Like all lovers of democracy, they prefer it quiet and respectful, as in their fond imaginings rather than as it is in horrid reality. Plus it should be desperate to be guided by wise teachers such as themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-most-news-sources-closing-their-comment-sections/742358/12 "2016-01-06T22:12:36Z")
To see for myself, I went on the Fox News website and looked at their lead story, [GAY MARRIAGE CHALLENGE Ala. judge defies Supreme Court, orders halt to same-sex licenses](http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/01/06/alabama-top-justice-orders-judges-not-to-issue-gay-marriage-licenses.html?intcmp=hpbt1) Comments were coming pretty quickly. I copied a bunch that came during a 4-minute period. > [@](#): > > If the President refuses to honor the Bill of Rights, namely the 2nd Amendment, why should anyone honor a Supreme Court ruling? > > Gays think that just because their buddies in Hollywood present their lifestyles as ‘normal’ by writing in a token gay or two in each TV episode…everything will be OK. > > I guess they don’t cotton to peter puffing in Alabama. > > Liberals just want to be able to marry their pets. > > The sick perversion is not acceptable to normal people. > > By what measuring stick do you tell “acceptable”? > > Put the STATES back in the United States. > > Amendment 10 was dead long ago. > > Better to put the United back. ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-most-news-sources-closing-their-comment-sections/742358/13 "2016-01-06T22:12:41Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > News comment sections. > > Nowhere in the galaxy will you find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. Worse then regular Social Media like Twitter? ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-most-news-sources-closing-their-comment-sections/742358/14 "2016-01-06T22:14:14Z")
I’m still trying to comprehend the fact that someone out there thinks CNN is a progressive site. But yeah, the comments section of news sites is just pointless. ---
**Author:** ![Carryon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Carryon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carryon)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-most-news-sources-closing-their-comment-sections/742358/15 "2016-01-07T00:46:30Z")
Would it be possible for hackers to use comments to either insert malicious code or to at least see where the database for users lies in the website’s server or something along those lines? ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-most-news-sources-closing-their-comment-sections/742358/16 "2016-01-07T00:54:58Z")
> [@Carryon](#): > > Would it be possible for hackers to use comments to either insert malicious code or to at least see where the database for users lies in the website’s server or something along those lines? Absolutely not. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-most-news-sources-closing-their-comment-sections/742358/17 "2016-01-07T01:02:01Z")
> [@Carryon](#): > > Would it be possible for hackers to use comments to either insert malicious code or to at least see where the database for users lies in the website’s server or something along those lines? Only if their web team really, really sucks at their jobs. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-most-news-sources-closing-their-comment-sections/742358/18 "2016-01-07T01:04:39Z")
It would be possible, if the code for the comments section was written by amateurs. It’s not hard to prevent, though, if you know what you’re doing. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-most-news-sources-closing-their-comment-sections/742358/19 "2016-01-07T01:42:25Z")
My guess would be that news companies are uncomfortable with the comment section because sometimes the comments can end up being about how crappy and inaccurate an article is, as well as the poor quality of the writing - among other things. ---
**Author:** ![Oddball\_92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b3f665/32.png) [@Oddball\_92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oddball_92)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-most-news-sources-closing-their-comment-sections/742358/20 "2016-01-07T01:44:33Z")
Political correctness is everything now. Way more important than facts. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-most-news-sources-closing-their-comment-sections/742358.md?page=2)