Introduction

In just two decades, social media has revolutionised how people connect, find entertainment and form communities. It has become the new norm for social engagement, drawing in audiences across every generation, from digital-native teens to parents and retirees. Today, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok facilitate these interactions, and make it possible for brands to reach specific audiences with tailored content and messaging. 

The way brands use social media is evolving. Beyond digital marketing, social media gives brands a way to generate repeated brand engagement, uncover new audience insights and build communities organically. Importantly, growing an online community holds commercial value that is tied to measurable outcomes. In this emerging “community paradigm,” brands that invest in building an active online community gain a competitive advantage through deeper audience immersion, more opportunities for co-creation, increased platform traffic, stronger return on ad spend and higher customer lifetime value.

But the opportunity to build brand presence online comes with inherent risk. As social platforms have matured, so too has the scale and visibility of user-generated content. Comment sections, once viewed as secondary, have become the frontline for audience discussions, opinion sharing, and… harmful comments.

When left unmoderated, toxic comments go unchecked and undermine the very communities brands are trying to create. Posts that are seen to have hate comments, harassment, spam, sexual content and cyber scams give a bad impression of the brand, erode trust, discourage participation and ultimately fragment communities. 

Creating a harm-free space for conversation isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s the essential foundation for fostering a sense of belonging and encouraging participation. This is why community protection is the first step to building a thriving community online. It isn’t just about managing risk, it’s about creating conditions that lead to genuine connections.

The prevalence of harm

At Sence, we’ve analysed millions of social media comments in the last six months to identify the frequency of harmful comments on social media posts. 

Harmful comments come in many forms, each with their own risks. Sense’s analysis found that spam is the most common type of harmful content, making up 37% of all flagged comments. Harassment and hate comments are also significant, representing 27% and 26% respectively.

‍

Signals that harm is on the rise

Social media offers enormous opportunity for brands, but it also comes with real risk to both brand image and online community. With more of the conversation taking place online, the volume and visibility of harmful comments are growing. Recent trends show that online harm isn’t just present but growing, making it more critical than ever for brands to manage its impact.

Reports of online harm are increasing 

In FY24, Netsafe received a 25% year-on-year increase in the number of harmful digital communication complaints that met the legal thresholds. Reported harm was most likely to be experienced on Facebook and Instagram.

The rise of online harm is being felt on a global scale too. In the UK, the National Cyber Security Centre reported a 16% increase in cyber incidents in 2024 compared to the previous year.

Meta relaxed its moderation policy 

In early 2025, Meta changed its content policy, scaling back the extent of content moderation across its platforms. Although it was announced as reducing censorship, the change has inevitably led to an increase in harmful comments being left on its platforms. Since the policy has been implemented, Sence has seen a 30% increase in the number of harmful comments on Facebook.

Younger audiences are at greater risk

A global survey across 16 countries found that 67% of internet users have encountered hate speech online. This number rises to 74% among users under 35, highlighting the greater vulnerability of younger audiences.  

In 2025, the NCSC surveyed cyber safety in New Zealand, finding that 18-34 year olds are more at risk to cyber threats on social media. 40% of cyber threats experienced by this age group originated from social media platforms.

There is a growing risk of AI generated harm

As generative AI becomes more widespread, there are early signs of increased harm to social media users. Automated systems are making it easier to generate large volumes of AI-generated spam and deep-fake manipulation in comments sections. 

‍

What should brands do? 

Protect the conversation. Don’t let harmful comments pile up on your posts and paid ads, they turn people away before they’ve had a chance to connect. Community moderation creates a safe space for engagement, helping your brand platform become a host, not just a broadcaster.

At Sence, we believe protection is the first step to growing your brand's community. We’ve created a Conversational Intelligence platform that leverages advanced AI to accurately identify and remove harmful comments. Through contextual moderation and seamless API integrations, Sence is like having someone in your team read every comment in real time and take action. It’s smart, scalable protection that keeps your brand and community safe 24/7.

That’s why community-oriented brands are making community protection a key part of their engagement strategy. Sence turns that strategy into action, delivering benefits that are tangible, measureable, and immediate. With Sence’s Community Builder solution, ROI is created on both sides of the equation – through cost savings and revenue growth.

1) Cost saving: do more with less, and do it better

Manual comment moderation is expensive, time-consuming and can be inconsistent, especially at scale. It’s made even harder by the fact that 72% of comments are posted outside of regular working hours, when most teams can’t respond. Sence removes the need for human teams to filter through thousands of comments, freeing up resources and reducing operational overhead. By automating moderation, Sence clients are saving between 83 and 410 hours each month that would otherwise be spent manually moderating comment sections.‍

2) Revenue growth: drive performance by creating positive conversation

It’s not just about saving hours. When harmful or spam comments are cleared in real time, your paid ads can perform better. When people see positivity and trust reflected in the conversation around your brand, they’re more likely to take action. 48% of consumers say they read comments to see what others are saying about a brand, making the comment section a key factor in digital conversion.

With fewer barriers and a more positive sentiment, brands using Sence have also seen increases in website traffic, driven by higher-quality engagement across social content. It shows that when the brand environment feels trustworthy, audiences are not only more engaged, they’re more likely to take the next step. In this light, protecting the conversation is more than moderation – it’s brand building, a strategic act that earns trust, can increase performance revenue, and supports lasting community.

In summary

In the social media age where every post is a conversation starter, brands have more opportunity than ever to be a part of real conversations and build real community. But to build a strong community, brands first need to protect the space where these discussions happen. Harmful comments are widespread and take many forms on social platforms, presenting risks to both long-term community building and short-term marketing performance. That’s why leading brands are being proactive about protection. With Sence’s Conversational Intelligence platform, brands can keep their communities safe and unlock measurable value, like saving time spent on manual moderation, stronger paid ad performance and increased website traffic. When brands protect the conversation, they protect their connections and build their brand.

‍