The Role of Content Labeling and Discrete Emotions in User Participation in a COVID-19 U.S. Reddit Community

Abstract

Despite current practices of social media platforms, scholars have not confirmed whether content moderation facilitates community participation. Based on 1,739 submission threads and 21,237 associated comments on a COVID-19 U.S. subreddit, we found that content labels that cued high-source credibility (HSC) predicted more voting and commenting behaviors than content labels that cued low-source credibility (LSC). Further examination of the potential mediation of discrete emotions revealed that HSC cues evoked more emotion than LSC cues for all discrete emotions. However, only positive emotions (i.e., joy, trust, and anticipation) encouraged voting, while a mixed pattern across emotions emerged for commenting.