Removing social media posts may improve future content, study finds

“Sorry, this post has been removed by the moderators of r/[subreddit].”

In the first half of 2025, over 204 million Reddit posts were replaced with this simple phrase, erasing the original content forever and potentially leaving the user who posted it feeling confused and upset.  

While having a post on social media removed can feel like punishment or censorship, new research suggests that it may also serve as a learning experience for users. An analysis of Reddit content found users whose posts were removed tended to violate rules less often and create higher-quality posts that received more upvotes (Reddit’s measure of community approval) in their future content.

“Content moderation is often criticized as heavy-handed or ineffective, but our work suggests that when users have their original content removed, it actually may help them learn how to create better quality content through a stronger understanding of community expectations and adjusting their behavior accordingly,” explained Liangfei Qiu, PricewaterhouseCoopers ISOM Professor of the UF Warrington College of Business. 

Unlike user bans, which block users from posting and often trigger resentment and defiant behavior, content removal lets users keep posting, and that distinction may be a key to why it works as a learning opportunity. 

Using data from about 10,000 Reddit users across 40 subreddits and more than 99,000 posts*, Qiu and his coauthor found that post removal was associated with fewer future rule violations and higher-quality subsequent posts, measured in part through increased upvotes. The study also found that these effects were stronger when users received explanations or guidelines about why their post was removed. 

Additionally, users seemed to learn not only from their own post removals, but also by observing the posts of others being removed, amplifying the effect of post removal on users’ content quality. In practice, this suggests that when Reddit users scroll past a [removed] placeholder, it may subtly shape how they respond next time one of their own posts is removed. 

The research suggests that moderation may do more than remove harmful or low-quality content in the moment – it can also help users behave better in the future. For social media platforms and online communities, like those on Reddit, Facebook, X, TikTok and Instagram, the researchers point to post removal as a tool that can support healthier participation, especially when paired with clear guidance and exercised with caution.

“Rather than policing users, moderation may help improve the quality of online communities,” said Qiu.

*This data was collected using the Pushshift Reddit API before Reddit’s restrictions and bans on its use as well as the PRAW Reddit API to track content moderation activities (to determine if a post had been removed by a moderator rather than the original author).

The research, “Balancing acts: Unveiling the dynamics of post removal on social media user-generated content,” is forthcoming in Information Systems Research. 

Researchers:

• Guohou Shan – Northeastern University D’Amore-McKim School of Business
• Liangfei Qiu – University of Florida Warrington College of Business