BBC Launches Experimental Mastodon Server To Share Content And Explore Moderation Risks

The BBC has launched an "experimental" Mastodon server (photo: x @BBCWorld)

JAKARTA - The BBC has launched its own "experimental" Mastodon server. This makes one of the first major news outlets to set up servers on the Twitter alternative. users can access the server on social.bbc, which includes shipments from several BBC accounts, including BBC Radio 4, BBC Taster, BBC Research & Development, and several others.

The BBC said the outlet would try this server for six months before deciding "whether and how to proceed." Although users cannot create accounts or posts on the server, users can still leave replies from the instance used, and follow the accounts in it.

Nonetheless, the BBC still has some concerns about content moderation, as Mastodon doesn't have a special moderation team and let it rely on individual servers. This means the BBC has no control over what people say in their reply to their posts, but the BBC considers it an "admissible risk."

"We aim to learn how much value has been given and how much work and costs are involved," the BBC wrote, quoted by The Verge.

An approach not involved in content moderation could turn attacking, however, as researchers from Stanford recently discovered that Mastodon has been a hotbed for child sexual abuse (CSAM) material due to differences in moderation policies among instanto-insistance.

"The principles of the Fediverse, with emphasis on local control, quality content, and social value, are much more in line with our public goals than commercial networks such as Threads or Twitter," the BBC wrote. "We aim to learn how much value has been given and how much work and costs are involved."

Twitter owner Elon Musk clashed with news outlets earlier this year after Twitter incorrectly started labeling "funded by the government" on several accounts, including the BBC. Apart from the BBC, the Financial Times is also trying to stay away from Twitter by setting up its own Mastodon server.

However, the Financial Times closed the server just months later, stating that "Mastodon turns out to be more troublesome than its benefits." In addition to raising legal and reputation concerns, the Financial Times says their server growth causes an "exponential effect" on its maintenance costs. However, the BBC's experience may be different because they don't allow users to create accounts in instants