CBC to keep Facebook comments turned off on news posts

The Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) will keep comments turned off on its Facebook posts, the outlet said Monday. 

The decision follows an experiment CBC launched in June to turn comments off on CBC-branded Facebook pages after seeing an “inordinate amount of hate, abuse, misogyny and threats in the comments under our stories,” editor-in-chief Brodie Fenlon said in a blog post.

“The experiment has been a positive one. We are now posting more diverse stories than ever to Facebook. We are no longer moderating a space with few controls. The impact on our web traffic has been marginal. The well-being of our staff has improved, according to an internal survey we conducted during the experiment,” Fenlon wrote. 

Fenlon dismissed concerns that the outlet was limiting free speech. He said the CBC found a “surge of comments” on its website during the federal election, and users are free to comment on their own personal Facebook pages and other social media accounts. 

The comment section on CBC posts will remain open on a few posts that ask readers for specific questions to help coverage, but otherwise will remain closed, according to the post.