Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/314683 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 11644
Publisher: 
CESifo GmbH, Munich
Abstract: 
Most social media users have encountered harassment online, but there is scarce evidence of how this type of toxic content impacts engagement. In a pre-registered browser extension field experiment, we randomly hid toxic content for six weeks on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Lowering exposure to toxicity reduced advertising impressions, time spent, and other measures of engagement, and reduced the toxicity of user-generated content. A survey experiment provides evidence that toxicity triggers curiosity and that engagement and welfare are not necessarily aligned. Taken together, our results suggest that platforms face a trade-off between curbing toxicity and increasing engagement.
Subjects: 
toxic content
moderation
social media
user engagement
browser experiment
JEL: 
C93
D12
D83
D90
I31
L82
L86
M37
Z13
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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