The comments section on my town's news site just vanished overnight

Last Tuesday, the Springfield Gazette removed the comment box from every article. They said it was for 'civility' but it happened right after a big debate about the new school budget. Now there's just a button that says 'send a letter to the editor' which they never print. It feels like they just shut down the whole town square because a few voices got loud. Has your local paper done something like this?

3 comments

3 Comments

skyler_mitchell1mo ago

Yeah, "civility" is just a fancy word for "we don't want to hear it anymore." My local paper did the same thing after a zoning fight, and now the only feedback they want is a stamp.

milar4616d ago

Honestly see it more as them trying to stop the real nasty stuff, skyler_mitchell. Our paper's comments were just full of personal attacks, not real talk.

haydenc101mo ago

They just deleted the entire comment section? That's wild. Our paper tried a moderation system first, but wiping it all out is a whole different level. The timing with the school budget thing is way too perfect to be a coincidence. Feels like they got scared of the pushback and pulled the plug.