A Guide to Moderating Comments on Social Media
Updated July 2026
Responding to Comments
Comments can/should be responded to if:
- There is a sincere, legitimate question being asked.
- There is a point being made that provides for a natural, conversational response.
- There is misinformation that needs to be corrected.
- There is a positive point being made that you want to draw more attention to.
- There is a negative point being made that you feel needs a response to send a signal to the entirety of your audience.
Comments don’t need to/should not be responded to if:
- The commenter is trolling (see definition below) or trying to bait the account into a response (asking the same question(s) repeatedly).
- There is nothing productive to come from starting a conversation with the commenter.
- You don’t want to draw unneeded attention to the comment.
- You're not confident that your response is truthful, respectful and in-line with university policy and procedure. (Reach out to sarahvonnieda@uky.edu for assistance and/or clarification.)
Deleting Comments
Comments can be deleted if they include vulgar language, hate speech or personal attacks. However, it is best practice to HIDE the comment instead of deleting it whenever possible.
If a comment cannot be hidden and needs to be deleted, take a screenshot of the comment and save a record of the comment, the date it was received and what policies were infringed upon that led to deletion.
Do not delete comments if they are simply someone sharing a different opinion, negative in nature or pointing out something you don’t like. Censoring comments can create larger issues and prevents your audience from seeing your account as an authentic, transparent community to engage in and can erode brand trust.
Managing Negative Comments
Negative comments provide an opportunity to learn and grow. These are valuable and should be treated in a delicate and timely manner.
First, identify if the comment is trolling. Trolling is the deliberate act of making random unsolicited and/or controversial comments with the intent to provoke an emotional knee jerk reaction from unsuspecting readers to engage in a fight or argument. If the comment is trolling, do not engage. Trolling comments may be deleted or hidden as needed.
If it is not a trolling post, follow the ABC’s of how to respond:
- Acknowledge the comment
- Be transparent about what is happening
- Contact the appropriate department(s) to learn/confirm how to respond
- Do not delete or hide negative comment(s), unless it violates your page guidelines
- Engage in constructive conversations, disengage from combative conversations
- Find help for the poster, if needed
- Give contact information for additional assistance
- Help and move on; don’t dwell on it or draw additional attention
Example: Someone tweets that they dislike a certain experience at UK, such as a bad experience at a dining facility. We would respond with something like: “(name), we are sorry you had this experience. We have passed this information along to UK Dining.” This lets the student know that we saw the post, we acknowledge their frustration and have sent their complaint to the appropriate office. Remember: Each case is different, and it’s important to look back through the user’s profile to gain additional information to discover the context of the conversation or learn more about the user’s situation.
When to Escalate Comments to UK Public Relations & Marketing
- If the commenter has ties to groups or organizations that have a history of repeated concerns.
- If you are noticing multiple people raising the same question or concern.
- If the commenter is a well-known university or Lexington community member (student or administrative leader, etc.)
- If you have questions or need to escalate a comment, contact sarahvonnieda@uky.edu.