Everyone knows that the comment section of a news website is typically nothing more than a cesspool of semi-anonymous trolls spouting off ill-informed opinions and the occasional racist zingers. Sure, some sites have a classier clientele, but for the most part, it?s best to simply whistle past the graveyard and ignore the hysterical arguments about Obama, socialism, and the evils of the liberal media that inevitably crop up in stories about funny local pets. But according to a new study from two University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers, awful online comments may not only be soul crushing and annoying, they may also be harmful to one?s understanding of the news?specifically, science news. And who better to report on this story than Wisconsin?s undisputed champ of awful online comments, the Journal Sentinel?
Office of Strategic Communication