How the CCN comments work - Moderation, Culling, outright discrimination
We asked around and after much struggle and lot of phone calls Pavilion found somebody who was willing to talk about this very sensitive issue. How the comments are moderated at CCN.
"I worked for CCN, one based in GA and I was one of the many people that were part of the comments moderation. Here is how the comments are moderated at CCN:
When you first sign on you have to confirm your email and login credentials. Once you have done that your name goes in a database that is compared against a database of names. The names in this master database are compared for Muslim sounding names. Any names that match the criteria are set aside in another database. The user is not restricted from commenting after you sign on but the names do not show up as the user name but only as Guest. This prevents you from searching for your comment as fast as if you were to have your name appear on a page of comments.
These guest comments are treated in a special way. Once the comments by these "Guests" are posted they are matched up and culled on regular basis for comments that are overly sensitive to Israel, zionism, any special interests, names of companies (For example New York Times, Associate Press). These companies are sacred and nothing can last too long with the comments that speak negatively about these entities or companies.
Other comments that make "too much" sense such as points made with eloquence about Islam, Muslims, and things that can not be refuted easily are regularly removed from the list of comments. Initially this takes place using a fairly sophisticated software with lot of rules and algorithm to separate the "good" from the "bad."
Majority of the work is done by computers however the logic in a comment, although discernible by a computer program, is usually given a second look by a human person, like myself. We have strict instructions to adhere to the rules and policies given to us as part of the initial training. Here is a partial list of things we have to watch for. These are top of the agenda:
This section mentions in quite a lot of detail what can and can not be included. Generically speaking any comments inciting violence against Muslims are considered offensive and should be removed. However, comments regarding the prophet, Allah, the Muslim clergy, the Imams are all fair game. There is also a mention of free speech when it comes to comments on Islam and Muslims.
I was fired from CCN because some people thought that I was being "too fair" with some of the comments. The word among the people working in my group was that it (people getting fired for this specific reason) could happen to anybody and other people have either been moved or let go if the group leader or the reviewer thought a person was not following the specific policy. The termination was immediate and without recourse.
Here are some work around but nothing is fool proof because you can fool the computer once but that is about it. New words and variation of words are added on regular basis just like virus definitions or words in a Spam filter:
1. Use creative word variation
2. Be on the look out for your comments. Make copies of your comments. If you see them removed, post them again. They will be there for at least a little while until the next round of comment culling
3. Use fictitious name. Use an alternate name in your email too.
Good Luck"
We asked around and after much struggle and lot of phone calls Pavilion found somebody who was willing to talk about this very sensitive issue. How the comments are moderated at CCN.
"I worked for CCN, one based in GA and I was one of the many people that were part of the comments moderation. Here is how the comments are moderated at CCN:
When you first sign on you have to confirm your email and login credentials. Once you have done that your name goes in a database that is compared against a database of names. The names in this master database are compared for Muslim sounding names. Any names that match the criteria are set aside in another database. The user is not restricted from commenting after you sign on but the names do not show up as the user name but only as Guest. This prevents you from searching for your comment as fast as if you were to have your name appear on a page of comments.
These guest comments are treated in a special way. Once the comments by these "Guests" are posted they are matched up and culled on regular basis for comments that are overly sensitive to Israel, zionism, any special interests, names of companies (For example New York Times, Associate Press). These companies are sacred and nothing can last too long with the comments that speak negatively about these entities or companies.
Other comments that make "too much" sense such as points made with eloquence about Islam, Muslims, and things that can not be refuted easily are regularly removed from the list of comments. Initially this takes place using a fairly sophisticated software with lot of rules and algorithm to separate the "good" from the "bad."
Majority of the work is done by computers however the logic in a comment, although discernible by a computer program, is usually given a second look by a human person, like myself. We have strict instructions to adhere to the rules and policies given to us as part of the initial training. Here is a partial list of things we have to watch for. These are top of the agenda:
1. Negative comments regarding CCN
2. Overly negative comments referring to Israeli policies and comparing them with Apartheid, Nazism, Zionism
3. Personal Information - whether that is of the person posting the comment or about another person - is removed immediately
4. Mention of another website with a link (especially a deep link)
5. Negatively mentioning other companies such as other news organizations
6. Any information that could be deemed classified - loosely following State Department guidelines
7. Comments that are overly long and convoluted in nature
This section mentions in quite a lot of detail what can and can not be included. Generically speaking any comments inciting violence against Muslims are considered offensive and should be removed. However, comments regarding the prophet, Allah, the Muslim clergy, the Imams are all fair game. There is also a mention of free speech when it comes to comments on Islam and Muslims.
I was fired from CCN because some people thought that I was being "too fair" with some of the comments. The word among the people working in my group was that it (people getting fired for this specific reason) could happen to anybody and other people have either been moved or let go if the group leader or the reviewer thought a person was not following the specific policy. The termination was immediate and without recourse.
Here are some work around but nothing is fool proof because you can fool the computer once but that is about it. New words and variation of words are added on regular basis just like virus definitions or words in a Spam filter:
1. Use creative word variation
2. Be on the look out for your comments. Make copies of your comments. If you see them removed, post them again. They will be there for at least a little while until the next round of comment culling
3. Use fictitious name. Use an alternate name in your email too.
Good Luck"
Pavilion Editor Note (Update): Soon after a comment was posted on CCN website with a link to this site the commenting privilage of that account was taken away. Here are the screen shots:
First the login
No comments anymore.
These are the comments posted earlier and the top comment being the link to this article.
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