City of Worcester disables social media comments

WORCESTER, Mass. — The city of Worcester has disabled comments on their social media pages permanently.

According to a statement, the opportunity for social media comments on municipal pages has been “outweighed by the spread of misinformation, personal attacks and toxic language, and the possibility of doxxing.”

“The municipal social media pages are intended to be channels for external communication to keep residents informed. Comments on social media can often turn into threads of arguing, name calling, and worse – none of which the municipality wants to, or should, give a platform to," a city’s spokesperson said.