The Decline of Civil Discourse on Facebook: A Qualitative Content Analysis of the Comment Sections of News Organizations' Facebook Pages

This study explores the role of Facebook’s comment sections in the decline of civil discourse, examining how the platform’s design influences user behaviors and contributes to increased incivility. Through a qualitative content analysis of 3,030 comments from 12 national and regional news organizations’ posts on both Facebook and their website, the research identifies key structural elements such as engagement-drive algorithms and broader reaction options that amplify uncivil behavior. The study also introduces three prevalent persona types in online discourse—the passionate partisan, the agitator, and the cynical joker. Each of these contributes to the dynamics of incivility in different ways. Grounded in Gidden’s theory of structuration, the findings suggest that Facebook’s structural design not only facilitates incivility but also perpetuates it through a feedback loop where hostile interactions are rewarded with visibility. The research highlights the role of social identity theory in shaping user interactions, as individuals are motivated to defend their in-group and discredit opposing viewpoints, amplifying polarization. This study concludes that platform design plays a significant role in promoting or mitigating incivility and offers recommendations for fostering more constructive discourse into the future.