Mailing List Archive

[Wikimedia-l] Re: [Wikimedia Research Showcase] Content Moderation
Just a reminder that this event is on Wednesday.

On Wed, Nov 10, 2021 at 3:24 PM Janna Layton <jlayton@wikimedia.org> wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> The next Wikimedia Research Showcase will be on Wednesday, November 17, at
> 17:30 UTC (9:30am PST/12:30pm EST/ 18:30 CET). The topic is content
> moderation.
>
> Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx3xesDkp2o
>
>
> *Amy S. Bruckman (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA)Is Deplatforming
> Censorship? What happened when controversial figures were deplatformed,
> with philosophical musings on the nature of free speech*
>
> Abstract: When a controversial figure is deplatformed, what happens to
> their online influence? In this talk, first, I’ll present results from a
> study of the deplatforming from Twitter of three figures who repeatedly
> broke platform rules (Alex Jones, Milo Yiannopoulos, and Owen Benjamin).
> Second, I’ll discuss what happened when this study was on the front page of
> Reddit, and the range of angry reactions from people who say that they’re
> in favor of “free speech.” I’ll explore the nature of free speech, and why
> our current speech regulation framework is fundamentally broken. Finally,
> I’ll conclude with thoughts on the strength of Wikipedia’s model in
> contrast to other platforms, and highlight opportunities for improvement.
>
>
> *Nathan TeBlunthuis (University of Washington / Northwestern University,
> USA)Effects of Algorithmic Flagging on Fairness. Quasi-experimental
> Evidence from Wikipedia*
>
> Abstract: Online community moderators often rely on social signals such as
> whether or not a user has an account or a profile page as clues that users
> may cause problems. Reliance on these clues can lead to "overprofiling bias
> when moderators focus on these signals but overlook the misbehavior of
> others. We propose that algorithmic flagging systems deployed to improve
> the efficiency of moderation work can also make moderation actions more
> fair to these users by reducing reliance on social signals and making norm
> violations by everyone else more visible. We analyze moderator behavior in
> Wikipedia as mediated by RCFilters, a system which displays social signals
> and algorithmic flags, and estimate the causal effect of being flagged on
> moderator actions. We show that algorithmically flagged edits are reverted
> more often, especially those by established editors with positive social
> signals, and that flagging decreases the likelihood that moderation actions
> will be undone. Our results suggest that algorithmic flagging systems can
> lead to increased fairness in some contexts but that the relationship is
> complex and contingent.
>
> https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Research/Showcase
>
> --
> Janna Layton (she/her)
> Administrative Associate - Product & Technology
> Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
>


--
Janna Layton (she/her)
Administrative Associate - Product & Technology
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
[Wikimedia-l] Re: [Wikimedia Research Showcase] Content Moderation [ In reply to ]
The Research Showcase will be starting in about 30 minutes.

On Wed, Nov 10, 2021 at 3:24 PM Janna Layton <jlayton@wikimedia.org> wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> The next Wikimedia Research Showcase will be on Wednesday, November 17, at
> 17:30 UTC (9:30am PST/12:30pm EST/ 18:30 CET). The topic is content
> moderation.
>
> Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx3xesDkp2o
>
>
> *Amy S. Bruckman (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA)Is Deplatforming
> Censorship? What happened when controversial figures were deplatformed,
> with philosophical musings on the nature of free speech*
>
> Abstract: When a controversial figure is deplatformed, what happens to
> their online influence? In this talk, first, I’ll present results from a
> study of the deplatforming from Twitter of three figures who repeatedly
> broke platform rules (Alex Jones, Milo Yiannopoulos, and Owen Benjamin).
> Second, I’ll discuss what happened when this study was on the front page of
> Reddit, and the range of angry reactions from people who say that they’re
> in favor of “free speech.” I’ll explore the nature of free speech, and why
> our current speech regulation framework is fundamentally broken. Finally,
> I’ll conclude with thoughts on the strength of Wikipedia’s model in
> contrast to other platforms, and highlight opportunities for improvement.
>
>
> *Nathan TeBlunthuis (University of Washington / Northwestern University,
> USA)Effects of Algorithmic Flagging on Fairness. Quasi-experimental
> Evidence from Wikipedia*
>
> Abstract: Online community moderators often rely on social signals such as
> whether or not a user has an account or a profile page as clues that users
> may cause problems. Reliance on these clues can lead to "overprofiling bias
> when moderators focus on these signals but overlook the misbehavior of
> others. We propose that algorithmic flagging systems deployed to improve
> the efficiency of moderation work can also make moderation actions more
> fair to these users by reducing reliance on social signals and making norm
> violations by everyone else more visible. We analyze moderator behavior in
> Wikipedia as mediated by RCFilters, a system which displays social signals
> and algorithmic flags, and estimate the causal effect of being flagged on
> moderator actions. We show that algorithmically flagged edits are reverted
> more often, especially those by established editors with positive social
> signals, and that flagging decreases the likelihood that moderation actions
> will be undone. Our results suggest that algorithmic flagging systems can
> lead to increased fairness in some contexts but that the relationship is
> complex and contingent.
>
> https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Research/Showcase
>
> --
> Janna Layton (she/her)
> Administrative Associate - Product & Technology
> Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
>


--
Janna Layton (she/her)
Administrative Associate - Product & Technology
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>