Comment moderation for news publishers
Reader comments make an article live, until insults and spam take over the thread. OpenModeration applies your editorial rules to every comment, explains each removal in writing, and our team handles the hard cases.
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The challenge
A busy news site receives comments around the clock, with peaks on every breaking story. Journalists cannot read them all, and keyword filters miss sarcasm, coded insults and off-topic attacks while blocking legitimate criticism.
The OpenModeration approach
Context-aware AI reads each comment against your rules. Clear violations are hidden at once, acceptable comments go live, and borderline ones are reviewed by our team, with the rule at stake and a written reason.
The result
Your newsroom has nothing to do: our team handles the comments that need a human judgement, and you see every decision in real time. Every decision, automatic or editorial, is logged with its reason, ready for a reader appeal or a regulator.
Built for the way newsrooms work
Moderating a comment section is an editorial decision. OpenModeration keeps your rules in charge: our AI and our team do the moderating, and your newsroom can step in at any moment.
Your rules, in plain language
Write the rules your readers already know. No keyword lists to maintain, no code to change when the line moves.
A grey zone for human judgement
Two thresholds per category separate what is hidden automatically from what our team reviews. You decide how wide the grey zone is.
One history for AI and newsroom decisions
Removals made by journalists sit next to automatic ones in the activity log, with the moderator who took them and the reason.
Article comments and social pages together
Moderate your website through the API or the WordPress connector, and the comments under your Facebook, Instagram and YouTube posts from the same console.
Why publishers choose OpenModeration
A statement of reasons for every removal
The DSA requires hosting services to explain each removal. OpenModeration writes that explanation automatically, so readers know which rule they broke.
Built and hosted in the EU
Reader data stays in Europe and the platform is GDPR-compliant. On-premise deployment is possible on request if your legal team requires it.
No black box
Every decision comes with a written reason and a full audit trail. When a better AI model comes out, we plug it in: nothing changes in your integration.
We set it up and run it for you
Just connect your pages: our team sets up the moderation on your rules and use cases, then runs it day to day. Doubtful cases and reports are handled by us, and you can step in whenever you want.
We set up your rules for you
Our team starts from your existing rules, your use cases and your real comments, sets the moderation up, then fine-tunes it over the first weeks. No work on your side.
Our team handles the doubtful cases
Doubtful cases, user reports and contested decisions are handled by our team. The system learns from every decision and proposes adjustments to your rules, which you approve in one click.
A test without risk
In sandbox mode, OpenModeration analyses your real comments and shows what it would have decided, without hiding or deleting anything.
Frequently asked questions
Do news websites have to comply with the DSA for their comment sections?
Comment sections host content posted by readers, so a news site that runs them acts as a hosting service under the Digital Services Act. Article 17 requires a clear statement of reasons whenever a comment is removed or restricted, including whether automated means were used. OpenModeration writes that statement for every decision and keeps it in the audit trail.
Can moderation follow our own editorial rules?
Yes. We adapt the moderation to your editorial rules and use cases, written in plain language, and OpenModeration applies them to every comment. A sports desk and a politics desk can have different rules, and you can tighten or loosen a rule at any time without code.
What happens with borderline comments?
Each category has two thresholds. Clear violations are hidden automatically, clearly acceptable comments are published, and everything in between is reviewed by our team. Your journalists see every decision in real time and can step in with one click.
Can journalists keep moderating from the article page?
Yes. Decisions taken by our team or by your newsroom are recorded in the same activity history as automatic decisions, so you keep a single, complete record of who decided what and why.
Where is the data hosted?
OpenModeration is built and hosted in the European Union and is GDPR-compliant. On-premise deployment is possible on request.
Related resources
DSA compliance
What the Digital Services Act requires from sites that host comments, and how to meet it.
Every decision explained
How OpenModeration writes a reason for each moderation decision.
WordPress comment moderation
Moderate the comments on a WordPress news site without writing code.
Give your comment section back to your readers.
Tell us your rules and connect your site: we take care of the rest, and you see every decision in real time.
No credit card required · DSA-compliant · GDPR-compliant
Questions? contact@openmoderation.com